Category: Donald Trump

House Republicans Vote To Keep Liz Cheney In Leadership After Her Impeachment Vote

Posted on by John Hanson

An effort to oust House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney from her leadership position failed Wednesday after a majority of Republicans voted to keep her as the third-ranking House Republican.

The vote to potentially remove Cheney was done by secret ballot.

In the end, 61 Republicans in the House voted to remove Cheney and 145 GOP members voted to keep her.

One Republican voted present.

RELATED: Marjorie Taylor Greene Blasts ‘Hate America Democrats’ As Vote To Remove Her From Committees Is Confirmed

Backlash Against Liz Cheney Came After Impeaching Trump

The vote followed a defense of Cheney from House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.

The vote was held over Cheney’s vote to join Democrats in impeaching President Donald Trump for a second time. Nine other Republicans also voted to impeach. 

Cheney told the House Republican Conference, “I won’t apologize for the vote.”

Republican Congressmen Matt Rosendale and Andy Biggs passed around a petition to remove Cheney from her post as House GOP chair.

After the vote, Rosendale said, “The Conference has spoken, and it’s time for Republicans to unify to take back the majority. I will do my part to achieve that goal.”

Cheney Endorsed Primary Opponent Of Staunch Conservative Rep. Thomas Massie

Pro-Trump Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, who went to Wyoming to rally against her, claimed Cheney had worked against former President Trump’s ‘America First’ because Cheney was part of the “forever war machine.”

Gaetz, along with Biggs and Congressman Thomas Massie, opposed Cheney’s efforts to shove into the National Defense Authorization Act an amendment that would precent Trump from bringing the troops home from Afghanistan.

Cheney had also supported Massie’s GOP primary opponent, which angered many House conservatives.

Since Cheney announced that she would vote to impeach Trump, a recent poll found that her political support has collapsed by more than double digits back home. 

RELATED: Former AOC Staffers Launch Plan To Take Down Moderate Dems – Make Room For Far-Left Agenda

Cheney In Trouble In Wyoming

73 percent of Wyoming Republicans viewed her unfavorably according to the poll, while 62 percent of all voters overall now view her negatively. 

In the same poll, only 10 percent of GOP voters and 13 percent of all voters said they would vote to reelect her.

Trump pollster John McLaughlin wrote, “Liz Cheney’s decision to vote to impeach President Trump makes her extremely vulnerable.”

“It is evident her ratings are in bad shape among general election voters and have collapsed among Republicans and Trump voters,” he added.

Since her vote to impeach, 10 County Republican Parties in Wyoming have voted to censure her.

The post House Republicans Vote To Keep Liz Cheney In Leadership After Her Impeachment Vote appeared first on The Political Insider.

GOP a ‘grotesque caricature’ of what it was before, says former Sen. John Danforth

Posted on by PBS NewsHour - Politics
John Danforth, a former Republican senator, garnered attention last month when he denounced Sen. Josh Hawley's role in the Capitol attacks and expressed regret over his previous support for the Missouri lawmaker. He joins Judy Woodruff to discuss his views on the modern-day Republican Party, former President Trump's impeachment, and the impact of questioning the legitimacy of the election.

Liz Cheney Censured By 10 Wyoming County Republican Parties Over Impeachment Vote

Posted on by John Hanson

The Republican Parties of ten different Wyoming counties have voted to censure House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney. According to the Casper Star-Tribune, that number could still rise.

Since Cheney and nine other Republicans voted in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump, who they blame for inciting the Capitol Hill riots on January 6, Cheney has faced significant criticism in Wyoming and Washington, D.C.

RELATED: Mitch McConnell Voices Support For Liz Cheney As Calls Grow For Her To Be Expelled From GOP Leadership

County GOP: Cheney ‘Betrayed The Trust’ Of Her Voters

Wyoming Republicans haven’t minced words in their descriptions of Cheney’s behavior.

The Sweetwater County Republican Party censure states that Cheney had “betrayed the trust and failed to honor the will of the very large majority of motivated Wyoming voters who elected her.”

Part of their statement read:

“Because she voted in an anarchic proceeding against President Donald J. Trump which was conducted in contravention of established principles of due process — a proceeding that provided no probative evidence for consideration, called no witnesses to testify under oath, permitted no questioning of the accusers by the accused — Representative Liz Cheney stood in defiance of the quantifiable will of the substantial majority of Wyoming citizens and devalued the political influence of the State of Wyoming.”

Cheney On Impeachment Vote: ‘This Is A Vote Of Conscience’

Over half of the House Republican Conference has said they plan to vote to remove Cheney from her leadership role.

Still, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has implied that he will not support ousting Cheney from her post, and Cheney herself declared last month, “I’m not going anywhere.”

“This is a vote of conscience,” Cheney added. “It’s one where there are different views in our conference.”

She did not explain how President Trump was responsible for some people breaking in to the Capitol building.

RELATED: Pelosi, Schumer Begin Process Of Potentially Bypassing GOP To Push COVID Relief Through Congress

McConnell Supports Cheney

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell gave his support to Cheney on Monday, describing her as an “important leader.”

“Liz Cheney is a leader with deep convictions and the courage to act on them,” McConnell told CNN.

“She is an important leader in our party and in our nation,” McConnell added. “I am grateful for her service and look forward to continuing to work with her on the crucial issues facing our nation.”

Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, a regular Cheney foe, traveled to Wyoming last week to denounce her to the cheers of many Trump supporters.

Donald Trump To Focus On Defeating ‘Never Trump’ Republicans

Gaetz isn’t the only Republican taking steps to defeat Cheney in her 2022 re-election bid. 

Former President Trump, considering his political future, had reportedly talked of creating a third party. 

However, he is apparently changing that focus in favor of primarying ‘Never Trump’ Republicans – like Liz Cheney. 

The post Liz Cheney Censured By 10 Wyoming County Republican Parties Over Impeachment Vote appeared first on The Political Insider.

Trump’s Lawyers Argue Impeachment Article Is Violation Of The Constitution

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Donald Trump’s lawyers argue that the House impeachment charge is unconstitutional and are calling on the Senate to acquit the former President.

In their first formal response, Trump’s lawyers “denied” that the former President “ever engaged in a violation of his oath of office,” and by contrast, he, “at all times acted to the best of his ability to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

They also assert that going through a process designed to remove somebody from office when he is no longer in the office is a violation of the Constitution.

The brief calls for dismissal of the article stating, “Incitement of Insurrection against him as moot, and thus in violation of the Constitution, because the Senate lacks jurisdiction to remove from office a man who does not hold office.”

45th President’s Answer… by Fox News

RELATED: AOC Equates Republicans to Her Sexual Assault Abuser, Says She Thought She Would Die During Capitol Riots

House Impeachment Managers Say Overwhelming Evidence to Convict Trump

House impeachment managers earlier today filed a pre-trial brief which revealed what their plan of attack will be in the upcoming Senate trial.

“In a grievous betrayal of his Oath of Office, President Trump incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol during the Joint Session, thus impeding Congress’s confirmation of Joseph R. Biden, Jr. as the winner of the presidential election,” they argue.

The filing claims that the “facts are compelling and the evidence is overwhelming.”

The impeachment managers also counter the argument that the trial would be unconstitutional.

“[T]he text and structure of the Constitution, as well as its original meaning and prior interpretations by Congress, overwhelmingly demonstrate that a former official remains subject to trial and conviction for abuses committed in office,” the brief reads.

“Any other rule would make little sense.”

RELATED: Biden Considering Revoking Trump’s Right To Access Classified Briefings

Democrats Still Have an Uphill Battle

An impeachment conviction requires a two-thirds vote, which in the Senate would require 17 Republicans joining all 50 Democrats in voting to convict Trump.

Senator Rand Paul already set the stage by forcing a vote on the constitutionality of the impeachment of the former President.

45 Republicans – including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell – voted that the impeachment trial is unconstitutional.

“45 Senators agreed that this sham of a ‘trial’ is unconstitutional,” he tweeted. “That is more than will be needed to acquit and to eventually end this partisan impeachment process.”

“This ‘trial’ is dead on arrival in the Senate,” he wrote.

“The Constitution says two things about impeachment — it is a tool to remove the officeholder, and it must be presided over by the chief justice of the Supreme Court,” Paul wrote in an op-ed column.

Neither of those elements exists in this case, as President Trump is no longer in office and Chief Justice John Roberts has declined to preside over the trial.

Trump’s lawyers and the House impeachment managers will submit another round of briefs next Monday, and the trial is scheduled to begin on February 9th.

The post Trump’s Lawyers Argue Impeachment Article Is Violation Of The Constitution appeared first on The Political Insider.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Fires Back After Mitch McConnell Calls Her ‘Cancer’ To The GOP

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene fired back at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell after he stated her embrace of “loony lies and conspiracy theories” is a “cancer for the Republican Party.”

Greene (R-GA) has faced a growing number of critics from within the Republican Party over controversial words and actions she engaged in prior to becoming a congresswoman.

CNN reported that in 2019 Greene “liked” controversial comments on social media, including one that said “a bullet to the head would be quicker” in a discussion to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

She has also dabbled in QAnon conspiracy theories and been spotted in videos harassing political opponents.

“Loony lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party and our country,” McConnell (R-KY) said in a statement.

“Somebody who’s suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.’s airplane is not living in reality,” he added.

RELATED: Republicans Start Turning On Marjorie Taylor Greene

Marjorie Taylor Greene Fires Back At McConnell Over ‘Cancer’ Remarks

Marjorie Taylor Greene fired back at Mitch McConnell over the comments, suggesting he and other feckless leaders in the GOP are the real “cancer.”

“The real cancer for the Republican Party is weak Republicans who only know how to lose gracefully,” she tweeted. “This is why we are losing our country.”

House Democrats are moving swiftly to remove Greene from her committee assignments, something even CNN is willing to concede is a troublesome move.

“The move by Democrats could set a risky precedent as they go after a sitting member of Congress over views expressed before serving as an elected official,” they write, “and one that has the potential to someday be used against the party by Republicans.”

Greene later tweeted a theory as to why she is “the ‘greatest threat’ to the Democrat mob and the activist media.”

“They hate me because I represent your America First views. They think Trump is gone, so they attack you and me. He’s not gone,” she wrote. “And we won’t back down and we will never give up!”

Greene reportedly spoke with former President Trump over the weekend and received his support.

RELATED: Nunes Blasts ‘Socialist Revolutionary’ AOC After She Accuses Ted Cruz Of Attempted Murder

Weak Republicans ARE The Problem

The entire controversy is proving Greene right.

While Republicans are quick to throw her under the bus, Democrats have been more than willing to stand in solidarity with people like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) who has made numerous controversial statements (some people did something), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) who last week accused Senator Ted Cruz of attempted murder.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) was exposed in a report late last year indicating he had been the target of a Chinese spy and possibly had a relationship with her.

He has recently smeared Republican senators as being members of the “Coup Klux Klan” and falsely alleged they were fraternizing with “terrorists.”

Not only did Democrats defend him, not only did he keep his seat on the House Intelligence Committee, but he was given a starring role as one of Pelosi’s impeachment managers.

It should be easy to condemn both sides for extremist rhetoric. But Democrats have set the precedent by allowing it on their side, if not rewarding it.

Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson cautioned against falling into the trap that Democrats and the media have set, portraying Greene as the biggest threat to the country.

“If cable news doesn’t like your views, you have to leave Congress. That’s the rule. The test is entirely ideological,” Carlson wrote in an op-ed. “You don’t actually have to harm anyone to lose your job.”

“This new member of Congress has barely even voted, but CNN says she has bad opinions,” he added. “Therefore, she’s the greatest threat we face.”

Carlson went on to suggest the media’s fixation with Marjorie Taylor Greene is entirely a result of the fact they have “made a living yelling at Donald Trump” and must now find another target.

Greene warned Democrats that if she is stripped of her committee assignments that there will be payback if Republicans regain control of the House in 2022.

“If Democrats remove me from my committees, I can assure them that the precedent they are setting will be used extensively against members on their side once we regain the majority after the 2022 elections,” she wrote.

“And we will regain the majority, make no mistake about that.”

That isn’t a conspiracy theory by any stretch of the imagination.

The post Marjorie Taylor Greene Fires Back After Mitch McConnell Calls Her ‘Cancer’ To The GOP appeared first on The Political Insider.