Earlier today the Republican National Committee (RNC) voted overwhelmingly to censure Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.).
The RNC said that the two representatives are “participating in a Democratic led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”
Although 35 House Republicans voted to support an independent commission to investigate the U.S. Capitol attack as part of a bipartisan deal, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) came out against it.
Then, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) pulled all GOP members he had nominated from the House committee investigating the attack following Speaker Pelosi’s rejection of Reps. Jim Jordan and Jim Banks.
Every congressional Republican, including those who voted to impeach Trump got behind their respective leader. Every Republican except for Cheney and Kinzinger.
Now, by accepting Pelosi’s offer to serve on the select committee, the RNC is saying it will no longer support them.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) preemptively condemned the censure of Cheney and Kinzinger. (RELATED: Cheney Raises Possibility of Criminal Charges Against Trump)
The Utah senator and 2012 GOP presidential nominee went so far as to call the move shameful in a tweet that’s gone viral.
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.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) February 4, 2022
Romney’s niece is RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who supports the resolution and has previously lambasted her uncle for criticizing President Trump.
POTUS is attacked and obstructed by the MSM media and Democrats 24/7. For an incoming Republican freshman senator to attack @realdonaldtrump as their first act feeds into what the Democrats and media want and is disappointing and unproductive. https://t.co/ArhI7Bi7bo
— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) January 2, 2019
The Hill reports:
Trump and the events of Jan. 6 have divided the GOP as the former president continues to exert enormous influence within the party.
Cheney and Kinzinger were among 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump following the attack on the Capitol. Following her vote, Cheney was removed from GOP leadership in the chamber for repeatedly pushing back against Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
Romney similarly condemned Trump following the events of Jan. 6, explicitly declaring that the former president had “incited the insurrection” that led to 5 deaths and hundreds of injuries, many of them sustained by Capitol Police officers. The Utah senator was one of seven Republicans in the upper chamber to vote to convict Trump on an impeachment charge after the attack.
Romney was censured by the Weber County GOP in Utah for voting to convict Trump last year.
Besides being outspoken critics of the former president, Cheney and Kinzinger are the only two Republicans serving on the House select committee investigating the United States Capitol attack.
SEE ALSO: FBI Director Denies Bureau Tougher on Capitol Rioters Than Violent BLM Thugs
Romney is set to participate in a fundraiser for Cheney’s reelection campaign in March.
Read the RNC’s censure resolution here:
Here is the draft censure resolution from Trump ally Dave Bossie and RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel against Rep. Liz Cheney. pic.twitter.com/EJ7O0XyUAk
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) February 4, 2022