Photo taken on April 2, 2021 shows the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"I will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office," Liz Cheney said, vowing to continue her fight against Donald Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, which she describes as "The Big Lie."

WASHINGTON, May 12  -- The ouster of Liz Cheney, a fierce critic of former U.S. President Donald Trump over his narrative of "a stolen election," from House Republican leadership on Wednesday morning, is thought to have underscored Trump's massive and continuing importance in the increasingly divided Republican Party with uncertain consequences.

It marked the first time in recent U.S. memory that a congressional GOP leader was toppled by rank-and-file Republicans in the middle of their term through a formal vote, according to a report by The Hill. As chair of the GOP House Conference, Cheney, also a three-term congresswoman, had been the third-ranking Republican member of the House.

"I will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office," Cheney told reporters after the vote, vowing to continue her fight against Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, which she describes as "The Big Lie."

"We cannot let the former president drag us backward ... If you want leaders who will enable and spread [Trump's] destructive lies, I'm not your person," Cheney said in her opening remarks before the quick voice vote behind closed doors, sources in the room told local media outlets.