Wyoming Republicans take action against Rep. Liz Cheney, demand her immediate resignation

The Wyoming Republican Party voted on Saturday to officially censure Rep. Liz Cheney, the Cowboy State's at-large representative in the U.S. House.

The development comes after Cheney, the third-highest ranking House Republican, voted to impeach now-former President Donald Trump for the role she believed he played in the deadly violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Before voting to impeach Trump last month, Cheney said, "The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the president."

What are the details?

Wyoming Republicans overwhelmingly supported censuring Cheney in a vote held on Saturday.

The Associated Press reported:

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."

According to CNN, the state Republican Party also demanded that Cheney "immediately" resign, and pledged to "withhold any future political funding" from Cheney.

Wyoming Republicans are angry that Cheney did not stand up for Trump, who won more than 70% of the state's presidential vote last November.

In fact, Darin Smith, who lost to Cheney in the 2016 Wyoming Republican primary, said it's time for Republicans "to put [Cheney] on notice."

"We need to honor President Trump. All President Trump did was call for a peaceful assembly and protest for a fair and audited election," Smith claimed.

How did Cheney respond?

In a statement released Saturday, Cheney defended her vote supporting impeachment, claiming her oath to the Constitution compelled her to vote as she did.

"I'm honored to represent the people of Wyoming in Congress and will always fight for the issues that matter most to our state. Foremost among these is the defense of our Constitution and the freedoms it guarantees," Cheney said, Politico reported.

"My vote to impeach was compelled by the oath I swore to the Constitution. Wyoming citizens know that this oath does not bend or yield to politics or partisanship. I will always fight for Wyoming values and stand up for our Western way of life," Cheney added.

What about House Republicans?

Ironically, House Republicans overwhelmingly voted last week to keep Cheney in her position as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference.

In a secret ballot, 145 members voted to keep Cheney in her place of leadership, while only 61 Republicans voted to oust her.