Cheney says she’ll vote to impeach Trump

House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (Wyo.), the No. 3 Republican in the House, announced Tuesday that she plans to vote to impeach President Trump for inciting a violent mob at the Capitol last week.

Cheney is the first member of House GOP leadership to announce their support for impeachment, breaking with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) on the matter. Cheney told members on a conference call on Monday evening she felt it was a “vote of conscience,” according to one source familiar with her remarks.

“On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.

“I will vote to impeach the President,” she said.

Cheney is the second House Republican to announce their formal support of the move, following Rep. John Katko (N.Y.), chairman of the Tuesday Group. Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.) also announced Tuesday that they would vote to impeach Trump. A handful of other GOP lawmakers have signaled they are open to backing the efforts.

The impeachment resolution, led by Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), charges Trump with high crimes and misdemeanors for “willfully inciting violence against the Government of the United States.”

Five people, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, died during the riot last week, when a mob of Trump supporters swarmed the building in an attempt to stop the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win.

Cheney also broke with McCarthy and Scalise during the vote challenging the election results on Wednesday and the early hours of Thursday morning, opting not to object to the certification of key swing states.

Trump has repeatedly gone after Cheney — who has broken with him on key issues — railing against her at a rally that took place by the White House just before he called on protesters to go to the Capitol. And the Wyoming Republican has not been afraid to speak out against the president’s rhetoric and policy positions during the course of his presidency.

While he has not made an official announcement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has signaled to allies that he believes the president committed an impeachable offense, The New York Times first reported.

Updated: 10:15 p.m.