House Republicans oust Cheney from leadership as she vows to stop Trump

Former President Donald Trump, in a series of statements Wednesday as the vote was happening, attacked Cheney with personal insults -- following through on his promise since leaving office to inflict revenge on his enemies.

"Liz Cheney is a bitter, horrible human being," Trump said in a statement following her ouster. "She is a warmonger whose family stupidly pushed us into the never-ending Middle East Disaster, draining our wealth and depleting our Great Military, the worst decision in our Country’s history. I look forward to soon watching her as a Paid Contributor on CNN or MSDNC!'"

In an earlier statement ahead of the vote, Trump encouraged her removal and said Cheney has "absolutely no personality or heart."

Despite Trump's attacks, Cheney is not backing down from her criticisms, vowing after the vote to "do everything I can to ensure the former president never gets anywhere near the Oval Office."

House Republicans removed Cheney from the No. 3 leadership post via a voice vote.

While a secret ballot was expected, and was the method used in February when Cheney faced another challenge to her post and prevailed 145-61, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy rejected calls for one.

Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who is in the party's minority for publicly supporting Cheney, said following the meeting that McCarthy said he opted for a voice vote instead to "show unity."

A voice vote is taken by evaluating the relative strength and volume of "aye" and "no" calls. Since the vote was conducted behind closed doors in a conference-wide meeting, it's unlikely many Republicans will let their positions be known in public, but it makes it harder to assess how much support Cheney had.

Following the vote to oust Cheney, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik formally announced her bid for House Republican Conference Chair with a letter to her GOP colleagues asking for their vote.

She blamed the news media for dividing the Republican Party and vowed to regain the majority and "fire Speaker Pelosi once and for all."

The note comes amid growing concern among the conservative wing of the Republican Party that Stefanik, with a more moderate voting record than Cheney, is not conservative enough for the job.

Following the vote, Cheney told reporters that she did not feel betrayed by the vote and that she will keep on fighting to prevent former President Donald Trump from ever making his way back into the Oval Office. 

"We cannot embrace both the big lie and the Constitution," she said.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger spoke immediately after Cheney and said there was little speaking among members during the vote to remove Cheney.

He said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said this morning that the vote was about "unity."

Other Republicans leaving the meeting said the conference vote to replace Cheney will likely take place Friday.