GOP purge: Trump ally ousts official who failed admin 'purity test'

15 January

Editor's Note: This headline has been updated.

Republican Michael Allen, known for his focus on national security, has been aggressively promoting John Ratcliffe for CIA director.

But according to Politico sources, he is being ousted from President-elect Donald Trump's transition orbit because he once hosted a fundraiser for former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming).

A member of Trump's transition team, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Politico that Allen did a "fine job" promoting Trump's nomination of Ratcliffe for CIA director.

"Still," Politico's Daniel Lippman reports in an article published on January 13, "the ouster appeared to be further evidence of efforts within the president-elect's orbit to purge Republicans who have supported outspoken critics like Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump and served on the House January 6 Committee."

Allen, interviewed by Politico, didn't get into the details about being ousted. And he told the publication, "I was happy to pitch in. Ratcliffe will make a great CIA director, and I’m looking forward to President Trump's term."

But a transition official, quoted anonymously, told Politico, "There are all sorts of purity tests in this new administration, more so than in the first term."

After the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building, Liz Cheney blamed Trump for the attack and was relentless in her criticism of him. And in the 2024 presidential race, Cheney campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris — who was also endorsed by her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Read the full Politico article at this link.

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