RNC committee advances censure of Cheney, Kinzinger over roles on Jan. 6 committee

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Members of the Republican National Committee (RNC)'s resolutions committee voted unanimously Thursday in favor of a motion calling for the censure of GOP Reps. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., for their participation in the Jan. 6 congressional investigation panel.

Sources told Fox News that there was limited discussion of the measure at the meeting, but the language used in the resolution was a matter of intense discussion prior to the closed-door gathering.

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks to reporters after House Republicans voted to oust her from her leadership post as chair of the House Republican Conference, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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The proposal is now set to be voted on by the full RNC Friday at its general session meeting, which will be open to reporters.

Cheney and Kinzinger are the sole Republicans on the committee to investigate the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and they both voted to impeach former President Trump, along with 8 other GOP members in the House.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., speaks during the House select committee hearing on the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 27, 2021. (Oliver Contreras/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Shortly after the vote, Cheney released a statement claiming that members of the RNC have "made themselves willing hostages" to Trump and said, "History will be their judge."

"The leaders of the Republican Party have made themselves willing hostages to a man who admits he tried to overturn a presidential election and suggests he would pardon Jan. 6 defendants, some of whom have been charged with seditious conspiracy," Cheney said. "I’m a constitutional conservative and I do not recognize those in my party who have abandoned the Constitution to embrace Donald Trump. History will be their judge. I will never stop fighting for our constitutional republic. No matter what."

"I have no regrets about my decision to uphold my oath of office and defend the Constitution," Kinzinger told Fox News after the proceeding. "I will continue to focus my efforts on standing for truth and working to fight the political matrix that’s led us to where we find ourselves today."

A source familiar with today’s proceedings at the RNC winter meeting in Salt Lake City says the party committee charged with debate policies advanced a measure banning the next Republican presidential nominee from participating in debates run by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

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Because of party rules, there’s now a waiting period before the resolution passes the full party and there’s an expectation that could happen in the coming months.

Fox News' Rebekah Castor and Lee Ross contributed to this article.