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 because of her repeated criticism of former President Donald Trump for his false claims of election fraud and his role in instigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans ousted Rep. Liz Cheney from her post as the chamber’s No. 3 GOP leader on Wednesday, punishing her after she repeatedly rebuked former President Donald Trump for his false claims of election fraud and his role in inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Meeting behind closed doors for less than 20 minutes, GOP lawmakers used a voice vote to remove the Wyoming congresswoman from her leadership post, the latest evidence that challenging Trump can be career-threatening for a Republican, even one from party royalty.

A daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, the congresswoman is an old-school Republican establishment pillar, and her demotion stands as a striking, perhaps defining moment for the GOP.

Both inside the private meeting and later to reporters, a defiant Cheney made clear that she would own her banishment from leadership’s ranks as a badge of honor and try to steer the party away from a former president she considers a threat to democracy.

“If you want leaders who will enable and spread his destructive lies, I’m not your person,” she told her colleagues before the vote, according to a person who provided her remarks only on condition of anonymity.

“You have plenty of others to choose from. That will be their legacy.”

One of the nation’s two major parties was in effect declaring an extraordinary requirement for admission to its highest ranks: fealty to, or at least silence about, Trump’s lie that he lost his November reelection bid due to widespread fraud. In states around the country, officials and judges of both parties found no evidence to support Trump’s claims that extensive illegalities caused his defeat.

Participants said Cheney received a polite standing ovation after her remarks inside Wednesday’s meeting. Leaders opted against recorded individual votes, but she had to endure what Rep. Byron Donalds of Florid said was a “deafening” voice vote to topple her.

Outside afterward, she declared, “The nation needs a strong Republican Party; the nation needs a party that is based upon fundamental principles of conservatism, and I am committed and dedicated to ensuring that that’s how this party goes forward, and I plan to lead the fight to do that.”

She added, “I will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office.”

Even so, the vote marked a surprising demotion for Congress’ highest-ranking Republican woman and raised questions about a career path that until recently seemed to have unlimited potential.

Cheney has told Republicans she intends to remain in Congress and seek reelection next year in her solidly pro-Trump state. The former president has said he’ll find a GOP primary challenger to oppose her.

Her replacement in the party’s House leadership is expected to be Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who entered the House in 2015 at age 30, then the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.

Stefanik owns a more moderate voting record than Cheney but has evolved into a vigorous Trump defender who’s echoed some of his unfounded claims about widespread election cheating. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., said the vote on replacing Cheney will occur Friday.