Trump allies urge McCarthy to remove Kinzinger, Cheney from House GOP conference

More than 40 conservative figures sent a letter to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday urging him to remove Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from the House GOP conference.

The group, which includes a number of Trump allies, said the two Republicans should be booted from the House conference “due to their egregious actions” as members of the House select committee that is tasked with investigating the circumstances around the Jan. 6 riot.

“As you are aware, this committee has no formal representation from Republicans. Both Reps. Cheney and Kinzinger serve at the request of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.),” the conservatives wrote. 

“As part of Pelosi’s team, Reps. Cheney and Kinzinger have deliberately sought to undermine the privacy and due process of their fellow Republicans, and those of private citizens, with improperly issued subpoenas and other investigatory tactics designed not to pursue any valid legislative end, but merely to exploit for the sake of political harassment and demagoguery,” they added.

The letter was signed by conservatives including former Reagan Attorney General Edwin Meese III, American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp, Citizens United President David Bossie, Club for Growth President David McIntosh and Conservative Partnership Institute chairman Jim DeMint.

The group said the House lawmakers could continue to serve in Congress, given they are elected members, but they urged McCarthy not to allow them to serve under the House Republican banner.

“We ask that the GOP conference meet immediately to vote on stripping Reps. Cheney and Kinzinger from their membership in the GOP conference,” they said. “We further inform you that conservative leaders are launching a nationwide movement to add citizens voices to this effort.”

A spokesperson for Kinzinger blasted the letter.

“It’s sad but not surprising that politicians who push conspiracy theories to their constituents and outright lie for their own personal gain are threatened by Congressman Kinzinger, a truth-seeking Member of Congress who respects the institution he serves, the people he represents, and the oath he took to defend and protect the U.S. Constitution,” Kinzinger spokeswoman Maura Gillespie said in a statement to The Hill.

The letter to McCarthy comes a day after the House voted to hold former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows in criminal contempt for failing to cooperate with a subpoena issued by the Jan. 6 select committee. 

Cheney and Kinzinger were the only two Republicans to vote alongside Democrats in holding Meadows in contempt. More than 9,000 pieces of correspondence, including text messages and emails, have been turned over by Meadows. 

But because former President Trump has claimed executive privilege, Meadows and his lawyers argued he did not need to appear for a deposition.

The Hill has reached out to the offices of McCarthy and Cheney for comment.

Updated: 2:04 p.m.