House Republicans vote to keep Liz Cheney in leadership role

Feb. 3 (UPI) -- House Republicans voted to allow Rep. Liz Cheney to keep her leadership role within the chamber after she voted to impeach former President Donald Trump last month.

GOP lawmakers voted 145-61 in favor of keeping Cheney as House Republican Conference Chair -- the third highest-ranking party position in the chamber -- in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday night, NBC News reported.

Cheney did not apologize for her decision to join nine other Republican members of the House in voting to impeach Trump on charges that he incited an insurrection when he delivered a speech to his supporters before they stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6.

Prior to the vote, Cheney issued a statement saying Trump "summoned this mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack" adding that "there has never been a greater betrayal by a president of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution."

During the meeting, Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania who said that Cheney "aided and comforted the enemy" while Rep. Darryl Issa of California asked if she would take similar action if she was allowed to maintain her leadership role, CNN reported.

Cheney, however, received support from both House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and Whip Steve Scalise.

"People can have differences of opinion that is what we are having a discussion about. Lis has a right to vote her conscience. At the end of the day, we will be united," McCarthy said after the meeting.