The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Friday voted formally to censure GOP Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) over their criticism of former President Trump and participation in the special House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The resolution, which unanimously passed through the resolutions committee on Thursday, was included in a package with four other motions, including one to “hold Communist China accountable for Covid-19.” The entire package passed by a voice vote at the RNC’s winter meeting in Salt Lake City.
Only a smattering of “noes” were heard in the sea of “yes” votes, though it was unclear who precisely opposed the package.
The resolution that censured Cheney and Kinzinger said the two lawmakers are participating in “persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse” by sitting on the Jan. 6 panel, which was convened last year by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
The resolution adds the RNC “shall immediately cease any and all support of” both lawmakers “as members of the Republican Party for their behavior which has been destructive to the institution of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party and our republic, and is inconsistent with the position of the Conference.”
The censure marked the strongest effort thus far to specifically punish the two House lawmakers but stopped short of calls by some to boot them from the House Republican Conference.
The resolution’s passage is indicative of how Republicans’ rhetoric around the riot has shifted over the past year. Many Republicans railed against last year’s insurrection in the immediate aftermath, with some laying the blame squarely at Trump’s feet, arguing that his false claims of voter fraud laid the groundwork for the riot. However, few Republicans besides Cheney and Kinzinger make a point any more of discussing the riot at length, let alone assigning blame.
The censure resolution divided Republicans Thursday and Friday.
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It’s a start!