WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Wednesday passed a slate of electoral reforms aimed at preventing presidents from overturning election results and making it harder for members of Congress to object to those results, as most Texas Republicans did after the election of President Joe Biden.

The legislation — co-authored by U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican who is among the most vocal critics of former President Donald Trump — was a direct response to Trump’s attempts to prevent Biden from taking office after he won the 2020 election, an effort in which Texas Republicans played key roles.

"This bill is a very important and crucial bill to ensure that what happened on Jan. 6 never happens again," Cheney said, castigating her fellow GOP members — all but nine of whom opposed the legislation — for "defending the indefensible."

"If your aim is to prevent future efforts to steal elections, I would respectfully suggest that conservatives should support this bill," she said. "If instead your aim is to leave open the door for elections to be stolen in the future, you might decide not to."

The bill passed on a 229-203 vote. All Texas Democrats supported the bill, and every Texas Republican opposed it.