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