Washington – Republican Party senators who teamed up with Democrats to plead former President Donald Trump guilty of inciting the insurrection are now facing a negative reaction to their votes, as Republicans in their states consider formal senators’ condemnations.
Two of the seven Republicans who broke with the former president – Senators Richard Burr of North Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana – were formally reprimanded by their respective state Republicans. The Republican Party of North Carolina voted unanimously on Monday to censor Burr for his vote to condemn Trump, while the Republican Party of Louisiana approved a censure of Cassidy in a vote on Saturday, acting quickly after the Senate trial ended.
In Pennsylvania, the head of the state Republican Party, Lawrence Tabas, notified members of the State Republican Committee in an email on Saturday that it would call a meeting to “address issues and consider actions” related to the Senate impeachment vote, according to two GOP county presidents. Although the email did not specify a date for the meeting or mention the name of Senator Pat Toomey, several members of the state committee said they thought he was referring to him.
Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska also became a target of the state Republican Party for denouncing Trump after the January 6 attack on the Capitol. A censorship resolution drafted before the Senate began its trial admonishes Sasse for criticizing the former president on several occasions, according to a copy posted by the News Channel Nebraska.
The Republican Party of Nebraska was due to hold its vote to censor Sasse on Saturday, but was postponed due to the weather.
The Republican Party of Maine is also considering whether to condemn Senator Susan Collins for her vote to condemn Trump, according to Bangor Daily News.
It is unclear whether the Republican Party of Alaska will punish Senator Lisa Murkowski for opposing the former president. The Utah Republican Party, meanwhile, noted that its two senators, Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, voted differently in the impeachment trial, but said that “when 2021 starts, we don’t look to the past, even to be punitive”. Romney voted to condemn Trump, while Lee voted to acquit.
“The differences between our Utah Republicans show a diversity of thinking, in contrast to the danger of a party fixing on ‘unanimous thinking’,” the Republican Party of Utah said in a statement. “There is power in our differences as a political party, and we expect each senator to explain his votes to the people of Utah.”
The seven Republicans joined all 50 Democratic senators to condemn Trump on the House’s charge of inciting insurrection for his role in attacking the Capitol. The former president was acquitted, however, as the 57-43 vote failed to clear the two-thirds sentence limit.
Aaron Navarro contributed to this article