GILLETTE – U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney said she remains dedicated to “fight for the truth” in her escalating feud with former President Donald Trump as he continues to “mislead and betray” the Republican Party and American people.

About 24 hours removed from being voted out as the GOP conference chair, the No. 3 leadership position in the U.S. House, the Wyoming Republican said she remains a believer in her party and that a deep divide caused by Trump can be fixed.

How that happens is through a commitment to truth and the Constitution, Cheney said during a Thursday morning conference call with Wyoming media.

Although she’s emerged as a pariah of sorts on the national political stage as well as in Wyoming, Cheney said she’s committed to fighting against Trump’s continued attack on the 2020 election process and efforts to minimize the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

“As you look at the larger issues of what’s happening in the Republican Party, (truth is) really at the heart of it,” she said. Trump “continues to do it … and undermine people’s confidence in the electoral process.”

Whether she holds a leadership position, Cheney said she is “committed to continuing” to speak out when Trump or others perpetuate “lies.”

While there seems to be a growing rift among conservatives between those who follow Trump and those who don’t, Cheney said she still has confidence the GOP can repair itself and be united again.

“The party is clearly at a turning point,” she said. “We’ve had over the course of the last year, year and a half … a collapse of truth.”

Along with conspiracy theories and misleading the public on multiple fronts, like downplaying COVID-19 and perpetuating unfounded claims of widespread election fraud, Cheney said it’s up to her and other Republicans to speak out.

They need to “take upon ourselves the responsibility to convey the truth and to convey the facts. I think that’s leadership,” she said, adding that what should be worrisome is that Democrats took the House, Senate and White House last November. “As Republicans, we need to take a real clear-eyed look at the 2020 election.”

Cheney also said she understands that she seems to be on a political island without much public support from other conservatives.

“The truth and the rightness of this cause isn’t decided on how many people at this moment are willing to stand up and speak out,” she said. “There are millions and millions of us out there who want Republicans to be the party of truth. … I don’t have any illusions about the challenge and the difficulty, but I know it absolutely has to be done.

“We’re at the beginning process here of fighting to restore the party. I don’t think it’s irrevocably broken. It’s still the party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan, and we have a responsibility to fight and to rebuild the party."

Asked about a growing field of political challengers in Wyoming and a push to vote her out of office, Cheney said she has always been a strong voice for Wyoming issues.

“What we’re seeing at home is not dissimilar from some of the battles we’re seeing nationally,” she said. “We’ve always been very dedicated to the Constitution and doing what’s necessary to defend our rights and defend our freedom.”

And while Trump has had more support in Wyoming than any other state, Cheney said she has confidence in people to vote their own consciences.

Most in the Cowboy State “don’t want somebody who’s going to swear allegiance to an individual,” she said. “That’s fundamentally un-American.”