Feb 6 2021, by Associated Press
The Wyoming Republican Party voted overwhelmingly Saturday to censure U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach President Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
With only handful votes countering the censure motion, which passed 59-7, Wyoming’s GOP party has called on Cheney to "immediately" resign, and vowed to withhold "future political funding" from the Wyoming native.
Only eight of the 74-member state GOP's central committee stood to oppose censure in a vote that didn't proceed to a formal count. The censure document accused Cheney of voting to impeach even though the U.S. House didn't offer Trump 'formal hearing or due process.'
'We need to honor President Trump. All President Trump did was call for a peaceful assembly and protest for a fair and audited election,' said Darin Smith, a Cheyenne attorney who lost to Cheney in the Republican U.S. House primary in 2016. 'The Republican Party needs to put her on notice.'
In addition to the vote, the party also announced that it was going to 'withhold any future political funding' from Cheney.
The motion also called for Cheney to repay donations from the state GOP and any county Republican parties that donated to her most recent campaign.
Cheney in a statement after the vote said she remained honored to represent Wyoming and will always fight for issues that matter most to the state.
Republican officials said they invited Cheney but she didn't attend. An empty chair labeled 'Representative Cheney' sat at the front of the meeting room.
In addition to the vote, the party also announced that it was going to 'withhold any future political funding' from Cheney, CNN reports.
The motion also called for Cheney to repay donations from the state GOP and any county Republican parties that donated to her most recent campaign.
Cheney in a statement after the vote said she remained honored to represent Wyoming and will always fight for issues that matter most to the state.
'Foremost among these is the defense of our Constitution and the freedoms it guarantees. My vote to impeach was compelled by the oath I swore to the Constitution,' Cheney said.
Republican officials said they invited Cheney but she didn't attend. An empty chair labeled 'Representative Cheney' sat at the front of the meeting room.
The censure vote was the latest blowback for Cheney for joining nine Republican representatives and all Democrats in the U.S. House in the January 13 impeachment vote. Just three months after winning a third term with almost 70%, Cheney already faces at least two Republican primary opponents in 2022.
They include Republican state Sen. Anthony Bouchard, a gun-rights activist from Cheyenne, who was at the meeting but not among those who speak. Smith also has said he is deliberating whether to run for Congress again.
On January 28, Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, of Florida, led a rally against Cheney in front of the Wyoming Capitol. About 1,000 people took part, many of them carrying signs calling for Cheney's impeachment though several were supportive.
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