RNC Votes to Officially Censure Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, Declares Events Preceding Jan. 6: ‘Legitimate Political Discourse’

Alex GriffingFeb 4th, 2022, 2:23 pm
 
Cheney and Kinzinger

Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images

The Republican National Committee officially voted on Friday to censure both Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) for their condemnations of former President Donald Trump and leadership on the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The resolution was passed by voice vote at the RNC’s winter meeting held in Salt Lake and was passed inside a “package” of five other resolutions.

The floor vote heard an overwhelming response of “yays” and only a smattering of “no” votes when those present were called to vote.

A resolution to “Hold Communist China accountable for Covid-19” was also inside the package that censured Cheney and Kinzinger.

The censure itself claimed that Cheney and Kinzinger had “been destructive to the institution of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party and our republic.” The text added that by participating on the Jan. 6 committee Cheney and Kinzinger were part of the “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse” – a clear attempt to try and normalize the events that led up to the attack on the Capitol.

Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) slammed the GOP ahead of the vote, saying, “Shame falls on a party that would censure persons of conscience, who seek truth in the face of vitriol. Honor attaches to Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for seeking truth even when doing so comes at great personal cost.”

Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) also commented, “The RNC is censuring Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger because they are trying to find out what happened on January 6th – HUH?” Both Romney and Cassidy were among the seven GOP senators who voted to impeach Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 attack.

Cheney, who has also been censured by the Republican Party of Wyoming said ahead of the vote, “The leaders of the Republican Party have made themselves willing hostages to a man who admits he tried to overturn a presidential election and suggests he would pardon Jan. 6 defendants, some of whom have been charged with seditious conspiracy.”

She added, “I’m a constitutional conservative and I do not recognize those in my party who have abandoned the Constitution to embrace Donald Trump. History will be their judge. I will never stop fighting for our constitutional republic. No matter what.”

Kinzinger too remained defiant, saying Thursday, “I have no regrets about my decision to uphold my oath of office and defend the Constitution. I will continue to focus my efforts on standing for truth and working to fight the political matrix that’s led us to where we find ourselves today.”

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Alex Griffing - Senior Editor

Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing