Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan says it was a 'mistake' to oust Liz Cheney and calls Trump 'toxic for the Republican Party and for the country'

• Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said the Republican's decision to oust Rep. Liz Cheney from her position was a "mistake."
• "I thought she just stood up and told the truth and said exactly what she thought," Hogan said on CNN's State of the Union.
• His remarks follow after Cheney was ousted for criticizing Trump's misinformation about the 2020 election.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan condemned the GOP's decision to oust Rep. Liz Cheney from her House leadership position last week, calling it a "mistake."

"I thought she just stood up and told the truth and said exactly what she thought," Hogan said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday. "And to ostracize somebody, remove them from their leadership position is crazy. It's kind of doubling down on failure."

Cheney was ousted as House Republican Conference Chair on Thursday for her criticism and was replaced with 36-year-old New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is backed by Trump. She has denounced former president President Donald Trump's baseless claims about the 2020 election - which he coined "the big lie" - said that he is "poisoning our democratic system."

-State of the Union (@CNNSotu) May 16, 2021

When asked about Cheney's statement calling Trump an "ongoing threat" to democracy, Hogan said he agreed with the Wyoming lawmaker.

"I think he's toxic for the Republican Party and for the country," Hogan said. "I think we got to find a way to get the Republican Party back to the party of Lincoln and Reagan, get back to the traditional big tent party that can appeal to the majority of people."