
FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2020, file photo, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks with reporters as lawmakers leave the Capitol in Washington. The Wyoming Republican Party voted overwhelmingly Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 to censure U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Rep. Liz Cheney on Wednesday defended her decision to impeach then-President Donald Trump, saying the GOP must “be the party that stands for principle and stands for ideas” to survive.
Less than a day after she was censured by Laramie County Republicans for supporting Trump’s impeachment on a charge of inciting a violent takeover of the U.S. Capitol, Cheney discussed her decision with the Cheyenne Rotary Club, hinting at the possibility of a future investigation modeled on the 9/11 Commission, which examined the root causes and aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
“As Rotarians, you all are known for the good work that Rotary does all over the world,” she said. “I’ve had the opportunity in my career to spend time working all over the world and in countries where they don’t have a peaceful transfer of power, working in countries where violence decides the outcome of elections. And what happened on Jan. 6 came very close to that.”
Since her impeachment vote, Cheney has been censured by more than a dozen county-level Republican committees as well as the Wyoming Republican Party. She is also facing numerous challenges in the 2022 Republican primary. Still, the congresswoman did not express regret for her vote, saying her oath to the Constitution was stronger than what is the popular or unpopular choice.
“The oath that I took can never bend to political pressure, to mob rule or to partisanship,” she said. “And that’s what we should want from all of our elected officials. Because if you are unwilling to defend the Constitution, or if you’re only willing to defend it when it serves your political purpose, then the Constitution will not stand. It only survives — and our governmental structure only survives — if people of goodwill, who take that oath of office, are willing to fulfill it, no matter what the politics or what the partisanship is behind it.”
“I think at the end of the day, the most important thing is honesty,” she added. “I owe all of you honesty about why I voted the way that I did, how I see it, and the information that I had. That is continuing to come out. And I look forward to continuing to have those conversations.”
In a roughly 45-minute discussion, Cheney called for a calming of the political rhetoric in Washington and at home, telling members of the Cheyenne Rotary that “how we talk to each other really matters.” She discussed policy, including the possibility of securing COVID-19 relief funds for nonprofits (she was supportive) and for direct payments to families (she said she would likely be a “no” vote on the final House bill, calling the scope and scale of it “irresponsible.”)
But she also discussed the future of her party and the need to reject the conspiratorial thinking that has become a feature of the modern GOP, and whether there remained a place for its standard bearer — Trump — after his time in office ended.
While Cheney said she supported the president on policy, his role in the Capitol riots was something “we can’t gloss over.”
“I think we have to get back to those things that Wyoming has modeled for the rest of the country in so many ways,” she said. “Independence is the idea that our constitutional rights come from God. They don’t come from the government; they’re enshrined in the Constitution. And government’s responsibility is to defend those rights. I think that it’s very important for us, at the same time, to be clear that we reject some of the most outrageous, extreme and indefensible positions that we’ve seen.”
“We’ve seen anti-Semitism, white supremacy, Holocaust denial, by people both on the right in the Republican Party and by people on the left in the Democratic Party,” she added. “They can have no place in our in our public discourse. We have to be very clear that we stand for freedom and justice and equality and that we’re going to fight for those things.”
Congress Immigration

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wy., heads to the House floor for a vote on Capitol Hill, June 27, 2019, in Washington.
Trump Impeachment

House Republican Conference chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks during an Oct. 31, 2019, news conference with other Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Cheney

In this Sept. 10, 2019, photo, House Republican Conference chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., pauses as she and the GOP leadership speak to reporters following a meeting at the Capitol in Washington. Cheney said that party politics should not have played a role in choosing whether to impeach President Donald Trump.
Trump Impeachment

Rep. Liz Cheney speaks during a news conference concerning President Donald Trump's first impeachment on Dec. 3, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
House Republicans

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., accompanied by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy R-Calif., and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., speaks on a news conference at the 2019 House Republican Conference Member Retreat in Baltimore, Friday, Sept. 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Trump

Rep. Liz Cheney,center, speaks with President Donald Trump during a bill signing ceremony for the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act in the Oval Office of the White House on Nov. 25, 2019, in Washington.
Trump Turkey Pardon

Rep. Liz Cheney waves during a 2018 ceremony to pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington.
Cheney

House Republican Conference chair Rep. Liz Cheney talks to reporters during a 2019 news conference at the Capitol in Washington.
Rep. Liz Cheney

House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., joined by Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., speaks to reporters following a GOP meeting at the Capitol in Washington onSept. 10, 2019.
Republicans Omar

House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., does a tv news interview just outside the House chamber to discuss her reason for voting against the Democratic resolution condemning anti-Semitism that was sparked by controversial remarks from freshman Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, March 8, 2019. Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, called the resolution "a sham" by Democrats to avoid condemning Rep. Ilhan Omar directly for her comments. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Trump Impeachment

Rep. Liz Cheney speaks as the House of Representatives debate the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump at the Capitol on Wednesday in Washington.
Liz Cheney

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and Scott Turner, executive director of the White House Opportunity Zone Revitalization Council, participate in a meeting Thursday morning in Casper.
Sonny Perdue visit

Gov. Mark Gordon and Rep. Liz Cheney chat during a breakfast discussion Wednesday in Wright. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue also attended.
Liz Cheney

Rep. Liz Cheney arrives for a news conference along with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, left, and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana in January in Washington. Cheney has raised just over $321,000 in the first quarter of this year.
Cheney

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney takes her seat Jan. 7 in Saint Mark's Episcopal Church for a prayer service prior to the official inauguration of Gov. Mark Gordon.
Liz Cheney

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, seen speaking in Philadelphia in January.
Wreaths

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney speaks during the Wreaths Across America event on Dec. 15 at the Oregon Trail State Veterans Cemetery.
Trump, Cheney, Zinke and Barrasso

President Donald Trump gives his pen to Rep. Liz Cheney after signing a bill related to the Bureau of Land Management in March at the White House. Sen. John Barrasso stands to Cheney's right and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke stands behind Trump. A new survey found that while Wyoming voters remain supportive of Trump in general, many disagree with specific policies supported by him and Zinke.
Liz Cheney

Rep. Liz Cheney address the audience Wednesday during the Casper Chamber of Commerce State of the Nation Lunch at the Casper Events Center.
Liz Cheney and Donald Trump

President Donald Trump gives his pen to Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., after signing one of various bills at the White House in March. Cheney has thrown her support behind two immigration bills that are in line with Trump’s policies.
Liz Cheney Visit

U.S. Rep Liz Cheney meets with members of the Casper Star-Tribune reporting and editorial staff on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017, in Casper.
Liz Cheney

U.S. Rep Liz Cheney speaks with Casper Star-Tribune reporters on Jan. 18 in Casper.
Election Night 2016

Liz Cheney hugs a supporter as she enters the Natrona County GOP election night party on Tuesday evening at the Black Gold Grille in Casper.
Cheney Swearing In

U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and her family pose for a photo with House Speaker Paul Ryan during her swearing-in ceremony Tuesday in Washington.
House Debate

U.S. House candidates Republican Liz Cheney and Democrat Ryan Greene listen to a moderator during the U.S. House debate on Oct. 20 at Casper College.
House Debate

Candidates for U.S. House from left, Republican Liz Cheney, Democrat Ryan Greene, Libertarian Lawrence Struempf and the Constitution Party’s Daniel Cummings listen to a question from a panelist Thursday during a U.S. House debate at Casper College.
Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney

Liz Cheney walks off the stage with her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, after they addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), in 2010.
Republican U.S. House Debate

Republican U.S. House candidate Liz Cheney listens to debate moderator and former Gov. Jim Geringer on Aug. 2 at Casper College, in the Wheeler Concert Hall. She sailed to victory in Tuesday’s Republican primary.
Republican U.S. House Debate

Liz Cheney speaks during a debate Tuesday evening along with fellow Republican candidates for U.S. House Darin Smith, Leland Christensen and Tim Stubson at Casper College. Nine candidates seeking Wyoming’s only U.S. House seat participated in a series of debates Tuesday.
Liz Cheney

Liz Cheney speaks with the Star-Tribune last month in Casper. Cheney is running for U.S. House.
Liz and Dick Cheney

Liz Cheney and her father, former vice president Dick Cheney, attend the Wyoming high school girls soccer state championships on May 30, 2015, in Jackson.
Liz Cheney

Liz Cheney speaks during a Natrona County Republican Women meeting April 21 at the Casper Municipal Golf Course. She will run for Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat.
Republican Split

U.S. Senate candidate Liz Cheney, far right, talks to supporters as her opponent, incumbent Sen. Mike Enzi, left, also makes the rounds during a tea party rally Aug. 24. 2013, in Emblem.
Liz Cheney

Liz Cheney speaks during a campaign appearance in Casper, Wyoming, Wednesday, July 17, 2013. Cheney, the elder daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, announced on Tuesday her GOP primary challenge to Wyoming's senior U.S. incumbent Sen. Mike Enzi. (AP Photo/Matt Young)
Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney

Former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, U.S. House Rep. Liz Cheney, share a foreign policy vision that advocates the use of American military power to promote the country’s interests.
Cheney Senate Announcement

Liz Cheney talks with Wyoming Rep. Tom Reeder, right, on May 23 at the Parkway Plaza in Casper. Cheney announced Tuesday that she will run for U.S. Senate in 2014, seeking the seat currently held by Sen. Mike Enzi.
Liz Cheney

Liz Cheney talks with other guests before the start of the annual Wyoming Retail Association meeting on May 23, 2013, at the Parkway Plaza in Casper. A California-based PAC has mounted a petition drive to try to convince Cheney to seek the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Mike Enzi.
Liz Cheney

Liz Cheney speaks to a reporter before her appearance at a Natrona County Republican Party fundraiser on Aug. 16, 2012 at the Parkway Plaza Hotel in Casper.