Kinzinger rips GOP colleagues for push to oust Cheney: 'This is lies versus truth'

With House Republicans poised to strip Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., from her leadership position, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., on Monday tore into his GOP colleagues for coddling former President Donald Trump and his false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

"This is lies versus truth," Kinzinger said during an interview with the National Press Club. "It's amazing how some of my colleagues claim to likewise be Christians but are somehow OK with, like, just accepting and supporting these lies."

Kinzinger's comments come ahead of an expected vote Wednesday by the House Republican Conference to remove Cheney from her position as chair for her refusal to entertain Trump's unsubstantiated claim that his loss to Joe Biden was fraudulent. On Monday, Trump formally endorsed Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Cheney’s likely replacement, for the No. 3 GOP leadership position.

Last week, after Trump labeled the election "THE BIG LIE," Cheney issued a forceful rebuke.

"The 2020 presidential election was not stolen," she tweeted. "Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system."

Her response to the former president apparently unnerved House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who was caught on a hot mic on Fox News the next day, saying, "I've had it with her."

"If you want to hide because you don't want to tick off the base and you don't want to tell the truth about Jan. 6 and you don't want to have to admit that Joe Biden won an election, Cheney makes it uncomfortable for you," Kinzinger said Monday. "Because when she's asked about it she doesn't dance around; she just says the election wasn't stolen, Biden was president, and Jan. 6 was a Trump-inspired insurrection.

"When it comes down to it, that's what Liz Cheney is being removed for — for making it uncomfortable and being consistent," he continued. "And God bless her for having the consistency to tell the truth.

"The one person continually bringing all this back up is not Liz Cheney, it's Donald Trump," Kinzinger added. "He's the one that keeps talking about the 'Big Lie' and the stolen election. He's the one that's not unifying. But of course, he's out of power, he's a loser, but he's the one a lot of people fear."

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Read more from Yahoo News:

• Liz Cheney and Donald Trump go to war over 'THE BIG LIE'

• Cheney: Trump is seeking to 'unravel' democracy — and GOP must confront him

• 'I've had it with her': McCarthy criticism of Liz Cheney caught on hot mic

• FBI nears 500 arrests stemming from pro-Trump riot at U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6

• How Elise Stefanik — Liz Cheney's likely GOP leadership replacement — went from moderate to MAGA