- The Republican National Committee voted to censure Cheney and Kinzinger in a voice vote on Friday.
- The censure resolution took aim at the duo's participation in the January 6 committee.
- The resolution dubs the committee a "Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse."
The Republican National Committee voted on Friday to formally censure Republican Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois for their participation in the House select committee investigating the January 6 assault on the US Capitol.
The resolution, which describes the committee as a "Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse," was reportedly adopted by a voice vote with overwhelming support at the party's annual meeting in Salt Lake City.
Ahead of the full vote, Cheney slammed party leadership on Thursday as being "hostages" to former President Donald Trump.
"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," Cheney wrote on Twitter.
Kinzinger, a six-term lawmaker from Illinois, stressed that he has been a Republican "long before Donald Trump entered the field."
"Rather than focus their efforts on how to help the American people, my fellow Republicans have chosen to censure two lifelong Members of their party for simply upholding their oaths of office," he said in a statement.
Not all Republicans were happy with the RNC's formal condemnation. Sen. Mitt Romney, the GOP's 2012 presidential nominee, and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is thought to be considering a presidential run himself, blasted the move.
"Shame falls on a party that would censure persons of conscience, who seek truth in the face of vitriol," Romney wrote on Twitter. Ronna Romney McDaniel, the GOP's national chairwoman, is one of his nieces.
Hogan, whose father was central in the push to oust President Richard Nixon, deemed it a "sad day for my party—and the country."
Cheney and Kinzinger's presence lends the committee bipartisan credence, but it comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made the unprecedented decision to block two of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's official picks for the panel. McCarthy, outraged by Pelosi's decision, later withdrew his entire slate. Since then, McCarthy, Trump, and other top party leaders have assailed the committee as it continues to subpoena top Trump White House officials for documents and testimony about what led up to the insurrection and uncovers embarrassing details about what transpired as rioters ransacked the Capitol.
Cheney was previously ousted from House GOP leadership after repeatedly criticizing Trump for lying about the results of the 2020 presidential election. The eldest daughter of former GOP Vice President Dick Cheney, she was once a rising star in the party who now faces a Trump-backed primary challenge.
Cheney and Kinzinger were also two of 10 House lawmakers who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the insurrection.
Kinzinger, an Iraq War veteran who still serves in the Air National Guard, was also once viewed as a GOP rising star. He repeatedly criticized Trump's foreign policy, which first prompted the party's uneasiness with his standing. Unlike Cheney, Kinzinger has decided to leave Congress, though he has vowed to continue to fight against Trump's hold on the party.