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Rosendale Votes To Oust Cheney From Republican Leadership Over Her Criticism Of Trump

President Donald Trump and then-Montana Republican Senate candidate Matt Rosendale at a July 5, 2018 campaign rally in Great Falls, MT.
Sally Mauk
/
Montana Public Radio
President Donald Trump and then-Montana Republican Senate candidate Matt Rosendale at a July 5, 2018 campaign rally in Great Falls, MT.

Montana Congressman Matt Rosendale joined with the majority of his party to oust Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney from her post as the No. 3 U.S. House Republican leader, according to a spokesperson for Rosendale.

The vote follows Cheney’s continued criticism of former President Donald Trump for his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen amid wide-spread voter fraud. Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department had seen no evidence of fraud that would support overturning the election.

Rosendale posted a statement on Twitter after the closed-door vote, saying Cheney was unfit for any leadership role.

"“Turning the page on her disastrous tenure will allow House Republicans to focus our messaging on fighting the Pelosi/Biden agenda," the tweet said.

Rosendale spokesperson Harry Fones says people associate Trump as the microphone for the Republican Party platform, which supports Trump’s America-first agenda, and says the former president continues to be a leader in the party.

Rosendale opposed the second impeachment of former President Trump and voted to object to the electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania on the same day a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Copyright 2021 Montana Public Radio. To see more, visit Montana Public Radio.

Kay Erickson has been working in broadcasting in Billings for more than 20 years. She spent well over a decade as news assignment editor at KTVQ-TV before joining the staff at YPR. She is a graduate of Northern Illinois University, with a degree in broadcast journalism. Shortly after graduation she worked in Great Falls where she was one of the first female sports anchor and reporter in Montana.