A number of Republican senators who voted Saturday to convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial are facing backlash in their home states.
What You Need To Know
- A number of Republican senators who voted Saturday to convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial are facing backlash in their home states
- The North Carolina Republican Party is expected to vote Monday on whether to censure Sen. Richard Burr, who cast the most surprising vote against Trump
- The Louisiana Republican Party moved swiftly Saturday night to censure Sen. Bill Cassidy
- Seven GOP senators vote that Trump was guilty of "incitement of insurrection" for his role in the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot, but the former president was acquitted because the 57-43 vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for conviction
Seven GOP senators voted that Trump was guilty of of "incitement of insurrection" for his role in the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6: Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
Trump was acquitted of the charge because the 57-43 vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for conviction.
The North Carolina Republican Party is expected to vote Monday on whether to censure Burr, who cast the most surprising vote against Trump. He initially voted against the trial’s constitutionality, but said he resolved to be an “impartial juror” once the full Senate decided to proceed.
Tim Wigginton, a spokesman for the North Carolina Republican Party, said Sunday that the group’s central committee would meet for the censure vote Monday night.
"North Carolina Republicans sent Senator Burr to the United States Senate to uphold the Constitution and his vote today to convict in a trial that he declared unconstitutional is shocking and disappointing," North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement Saturday.
Burr, who has already announced he won’t seek reelection in 2022, said in a statement after the trial that Trump "bears responsibility" for the riot at the U.S. Capitol.
"The evidence is compelling that President Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection against a coequal branch of government and that the charge rises to the level of high Crimes and Misdemeanors," Burr stated Saturday. "Therefore, I have voted to convict."
The Louisiana Republican Party moved swiftly Saturday night to censure Cassidy.
"We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the vote today by Sen. Cassidy to convict former President Trump," the members of the party’s executive committee, which voted unanimously for the censure, said in a statement. "Fortunately, clearer heads prevailed and President Trump has been acquitted of the impeachment charge filed against him."
In an op-ed in the Baton Rouge Advocate, Cassidy wrote that he "voted to convict former President Trump because he is guilty. That’s what the facts demand."
“Rather than defending the Constitution, President Trump was actively subverting the peaceful transfer of power, which is a bedrock principle of the Constitution,” Cassidy wrote.
"I have no illusions that this is a popular decision," he added. “I made this decision because Americans should not be fed lies about 'massive election fraud.' Police should not be left to the mercy of a mob. Mobs should not be inflamed to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power."
"I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution, and I take that oath seriously," Cassidy wrote. "This was, is, and will remain my commitment to you."
Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Lawrence Tabas issued a statement saying: "I share the disappointment of many of our grassroots leaders and volunteers over Senator Toomey’s vote today. The vote to acquit was the constitutionally correct outcome."
Toomey said in a statement that Trump’s “lawless attempt to retain power by a president was one of the founders' greatest fears motivating the inclusion of the impeachment authorities in the U.S. Constitution” and that “His betrayal of the Constitution and his oath of office required conviction.”
The Nebraska, Utah, Maine and Alaska Republican parties have not released statements about Sasse, Romney, Collins and Murkowski, respectively. Republicans in four Nebraska counties, however, have passed resolutions calling for Sasse’s censure, The Lincoln Journal Star reported.
In a video last week, Sasse, long an outspoken Trump critic, anticipated such a reaction.
"You are welcome to censure me again," he said, "but let’s be clear about why this is happening. It’s because I still believe, as you used to, that politics isn't about the weird worship of one dude."
Within 24 hours of Romney's vote, a petition to censure him started making the rounds in some Utah Republican social media circles, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Romney also was the only Republican to vote for Trump's conviction last year.
Murkowski is the only one of the seven Republican senators who will face reelection in 2022, stirring speculation that her vote could open the door for a challenge from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
"If I can't say what I believe that our president should stand for, then why should I ask Alaskans to stand with me?" Murkowski told Politico after her vote. "This was consequential on many levels, but I cannot allow the significance of my vote, to be devalued by whether or not I feel that this is helpful for my political ambitions."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Note: This article has been updated with additional information.