The state central committee of the Republican Party of Nebraska formally expressed its disappointment, but did not formally censor, although the resolution said Sasse “is rebuked” by the Republican Party of Nebraska.
A Nebraska GOP official confirmed the action to CNN on Saturday. The meeting was postponed earlier this month because of a winter storm.
“Senator Sasse’s condemnation of President Trump and his support for President Trump’s impeachment have been widely used several times by Democrats as a justification for a truncated impeachment process that has denied the President due process,” the resolution said.
“The Central Committee of the Republican Party of Nebraska expresses its deep disappointment and sadness regarding the service of Senator Ben Sasse and calls for an immediate readjustment by which he represents the people of Nebraska to Washington and not Washington to the people of Nebraska,” added the resolution .
Sasse, who did not attend the meeting, rejected the threat from the Republican Party of Nebraska to punish him. He was scolded by the party in 2016, but earned about 5 points more than Trump in the state last fall. President Joe Biden won the state’s 2nd Congressional District and a single poll from the Omaha area electoral college.
James Wegmann, a spokesman for Sasse, also rejected the state party’s move.
“Ben won far more votes and also more censorship than anyone in Nebraska history, so maybe the two of them really go hand in hand,” said Wegmann in a statement. “He doesn’t stick his finger in the wind.”
The reprimands underscore the reality that, at the state and local levels and at the base of the party, Trump remains extremely popular and there is little desire to put him aside or move on to a new generation of leaders now that he is out of office.