On Saturday, a meeting of the Wyoming Republican Party led to the passage of a resolution expelling Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from the party and no longer recognizing her as a member, as reported by CNN.
The resolution was passed by the Wyoming GOP Central Committee, by a vote of 31 to 29. Although the measure does not actually wield any direct power over Cheney, it marks the latest symbolic blow to the incumbent representative as a result of her frequent anti-Trump statements, which have all but eroded her popular support in her own state.
Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was one of only 10 Republican members of the House of Representatives to vote in favor of the second impeachment of President Donald Trump, which falsely accused Trump of “inciting an insurrection” after a crowd of his supporters peacefully protested at the United States Capitol on January 6th. Subsequently, Cheney became one of only two Republicans to serve on Nancy Pelosi’s partisan January 6th commission, after Pelosi unilaterally removed all of the other Republicans selected by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to serve on the commission; the only other Republican on the commission is Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who recently announced that he will not be running for re-election in 2022.
The Wyoming GOP had previously voted to formally censure Cheney over her actions and rhetoric, and Cheney was removed from her position as as Chair of the House Republican Conference, the third highest-ranking Republican position in the House, in May; she was replaced by Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who was endorsed by President Trump.
In response to the latest measure from the Wyoming GOP, a Cheney spokesperson gave an angry statement, claiming that “it’s laughable to suggest Liz is anything but a committed conservative Republican. She is bound by her oath to the Constitution. Sadly, a portion of the Wyoming GOP leadership has abandoned that fundamental principle, and instead allowed themselves to be held hostage to the lies of a dangerous and irrational man.”
Cheney has repeatedly criticized President Trump, who has been vocal in his determination to get to the bottom of the widespread voter fraud that took place in the 2020 election, which may have been enough to swing the results away from him and in favor of Democrat Joe Biden. Cheney referred to Trump’s efforts to fight for election integrity as “a domestic threat that we have never faced before,” which she believes is “attempting to unravel the foundations of our constitutional republic.”
Now widely seen as a vulnerable incumbent in a deep-red state, Cheney currently faces six challengers for the Republican nomination for Wyoming’s single at-large district next year. One of her challengers, former Republican National Committee member Harriet Hageman, has been endorsed by President Trump.