Republicans nix Liz Cheney as conference chair

The party’s third-ranked House leader consistently disputed former President Donald Trump’s claims that he lost reelection because of fraud, and she joined nine other Republicans to vote for his second impeachment. On Wednesday, House Republicans used a voice vote to remove Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., as conference chair in a private meeting that lasted less than 20 minutes. The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney told reporters she intends to stay in Congress and work to prevent Trump from returning to the Oval Office.

What does this signal for the party’s future? GOP lawmakers said Cheney’s view of Trump was not the problem, instead citing the divisions caused by her public disagreements with other party leaders about the president. Many believe Republicans need Trump supporters in order to take back the House next year. The lawmakers will later vote on Cheney’s replacement, widely expected to be Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York.

Dig deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s analysis of Cheney’s record and what today’s vote means.