RNC votes to censure Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger over January 6 committee investigation

Both have emerged as vocal critics of Donald Trump

The Republican National Committee voted to censure Reps Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for their roles on the House select committee investigating the January 6 riot, CNN reported.

The committee censured them for supposedly undermining GOP efforts to win back majorities.

“The Conference must not be sabotaged by Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who have demonstrated, with actions and words, that they support Democrat efforts to destroy President Trump more than they support winning back a Republican majority in 2022,” the resolution read, according to The Washington Post.

Ms Cheney and Mr Kinzinger joined eight other House Republicans in impeaching former president Donald Trump for his actions inciting the riot at the beginning of last year. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi selected Ms Cheney as part of an initial round of members to join the committee along with other Democrats.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy initially announced a slate of Republicans that included allies of Mr Trump like Reps Jim Banks of Indiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio. Ms Pelosi vetoed their membership, which led to Mr McCarthy pulling all of his members. In turn, Ms Pelosi asked Mr Kinzinger to serve on the committee.

The resolution also criticised the two members for “participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse, and they are both utilizing their past professed political affiliation to mask Democrat abuse of prosecutorial power for partisan purposes.”

Ms Cheney was already removed from her position as House Republican Conference chairwoman for her repeated criticisms of the former president and denunciations of the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. Mr Kinzinger announced last year that he would not seek reelection after Illinois’s Democratic state legislature’s new congressional maps would have put him in a member-on-member primary against Republican Rep Darin LaHood.