Its been six months since Trump lost the elections, and it’s clear that his dominance still prevails within the party. House Republicans took a vote to remove Liz Cheney, due to her public disapproval with regards to Donald Trump returning to the Oval Office.
The top lawmaker held the third-ranking post in the House of Representatives since 2019, Ms. Cheney proved to be a loyal member of the party until she said her party could not stand for truth if it upheld Mr. Trump’s false claims he won the 2020 election.
Cheney was previously applauded by colleagues for her clear display of leadership, but questions surfaced after comments made about the former president, saying: “We cannot let the former president drag us backward and make us complicit in his efforts to unravel our democracy”. Leading to her fellow republicans saying she is re-litigating the past while they want to move on and focus on the next election. Her fate in the party was decided in a “sneaky” behind closed doors vote on Wednesday morning, by having an overwhelming voice vote cast in favour of removing Ms. Cheney from her post. Soon after her removal, she told reporters: “I will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office.”
The decision is said to be a long time coming, as this was not the first attempt to remove Cheney from her role as party conference chair. Following the capital riots on January the 6th, Cheney, along with 10 other members of her party, including democrats voted to impeach the then-president for incitement of insurrection. He was acquitted in the Republican-controlled Senate. She survived the secret ballot held by the party’s leader in the lower chamber, Kevin McCarthy, who felt that her public display of disloyalty went too far. The final straw that broke the camel’s back was her anti-Trump broadside last week in a Washington Post op-ed, leading to McCarthy and his deputy, Republican whip Steve Scalise to gather steps to finally remove her. McCarthy said that: “He had it with her, and they need to make a change”. They cannot live in the past anymore and need to move forward.
Many followers support and applaud Liz Cheney for her courage, and leadership, Liz Pelosi said: “Congresswoman Liz Cheney is a leader of great courage, patriotism and integrity. Today, House Republicans declared that those values are unwelcome in the Republican party,”