Liz Cheney vows to never let Trump near Oval Office again as she’s removed from GOP leadership

Liz Cheney has been ousted from her position in the House Republican Party leadership.

The party removed Ms Cheney from her post as conference chairwoman by a voice vote because of her opposition to Donald Trump’s election lies.

The motion to remove the Wyoming representative was put forward by Virginia Foxx and supported by GOP leader Kevin McCarthy.

Ms Cheney speaking during the closed-door meeting with House Republicans said: “If you want leaders who will enable and spread his destructive lies, I’m not your person, you have plenty of others to choose from. That will be their legacy.”

She also said: “We cannot let the former president drag us backward and make us complicit in his efforts to unravel our democracy. Down that path lies our destruction, and potentially the destruction of our country.”

There are reports that when Ms Cheney began to speak and criticised the former president, she was booed by some members.

Ms Cheney offered a prayer during the conference meeting: “Dear God, fill us with a love of freedom and a reverence for all your gifts. Help us to understand the gravity of this moment. Help us to remember that democratic systems can fray and suddenly unravel. When they do, they are gone forever.”

Speaking to reporters after the meeting she added that she does not feel betrayed by today’s vote and is going to keep on fighting to prevent Mr Trump from ever making his way back to the White House.

“We cannot both embrace the big lie and embrace the Constitution. … I will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval office.”

As Ms Cheney’s removal was conducted by voice vote, there is no official record of how individual members voted, though many took to Twitter or spoke with reporters following the meeting. One estimate is that three quarters voted against her.

Representative Lance Gooden of Texas, one of the first to publicly call for Ms Cheney to be removed, says in a statement: “Today’s vote shows that Republicans are united behind one goal: taking back the House.”

Mike Kelly, representative for Pennsylvania’s 16th district, justified his vote to remove her on Twitter: “As the Representative from Wyoming, Liz Cheney can vote however she wants and answer to her constituents. The job of Conference Chair is to represent our entire conference, which she has consistently failed to do.”

One of Ms Cheney’s most ardent supporters who also refuses to buy into the “big lie” about the 2020 election promoted by Trump is Illinois representative Adam Kinzinger.

“I’m fully supportive of Liz. What happened today was sad. Liz has committed the only sin of being consistent and telling the truth, the truth is that the election was not stolen,” he said.

Colorado representative Ken Buck observed: “I believe Liz Cheney was canceled today for speaking her mind and disagreeing with the narrative the former president has put forth.”

Ms Cheney’s replacement as conference chair will be voted in on Friday. New York representative Elise Stefanik is the only candidate.