Liz Cheney censured by Wyoming Republicans for supporting Trump's impeachment: 'Violated the trust of her voters'

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the third-highest ranking House Republican, was officially censured on Monday by Wyoming Republicans who are angry that she voted to impeach President Donald Trump.

What's the background?

The U.S. House of Representatives impeached Trump for the second time last week, officially charging him with "incitement of insurrection." Democrats, and some Republicans, blame Trump's rhetoric surrounding the integrity of the election for inciting the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The impeachment resolution passed by a vote of 232-197. Every Democrat supported it, along with 10 Republicans, including Cheney.

Prior to her vote, Cheney released a statement blaming Trump for the violence. She claimed Trump "summoned" the rioters and then "lit the flame of this attack." Cheney said, "Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the president. The president could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not."

What happened now?

The Republican Party Central Committee in Carbon County, Wyoming, unanimously voted on Monday to censure Cheney for supporting impeachment.

"Representative Cheney has violated the trust of her voters, failed to faithfully represent a very large majority of motivated Wyoming voters, and neglected her duty to represent the party and the will of the people who elected her to represent them," the censure resolution declared.

"The Carbon County Republican Party does hereby censure U.S. Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming for her actions on Wednesday, January 13th 2020, as those actions stand in contradiction to the quantifiable will of the majority of the electorate of Wyoming, and for devaluing the political influence of the State of Wyoming by voting in favor of a process that followed no known hearing process, provided no evidence to consider, called no witnesses to be sworn, and allowed none of the accusers to be questioned by the accused," the resolution said.

Carbon County GOP Chairman Joey Correnti told the Washington Times that Cheney has thus far refused to answer constituents angry over her vote.

"People in the county party have attempted to get a hold of Rep. Cheney through email, phone calls — and I think only one person got a response from a staffer and it was pretty short," Correnti said. "We haven't heard anything."

Anything else?

After Cheney's vote, the Wyoming Republican Party released a blistering statement that condemned Cheney's decision.

"The wind in Wyoming has been horrendous today — with gusts up to 65 miles per hour. That is nothing compared to the whirlwind created by Representative Cheney's announcement that she would be voting to impeach President Trump, and her subsequent follow-through of doing just that," the party said.

"There has not been a time during our tenure when we have seen this type of an outcry from our fellow Republicans, with the anger and frustration being palpable in the comments we have received," the statement added. "The consensus is clear that those who are reaching out to the Party vehemently disagree with Representative Cheney's decision and actions."

Cheney is also facing pressure from fellow House Republicans, especially those loyal to Trump, to resign her position in party leadership.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said that Cheney was not representing Republican ideals.

"The reality is, she's not representing the conference, she's not representing the Republican ideals," Biggs told Fox News. "And I think that that's a problem...I'm not alone in that sentiment."