Utah Republicans seek to punish Romney for voting to condemn former President Donald Trump.
(AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite) Some Utah Republicans are trying to censor Senator Mitt Romney for voting to convict former President Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial. The proposal accuses Romney of being a “deep state” agent and undermining Trump.
Some Utah Republicans hope to censor Senator Mitt Romney for voting to condemn former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial.
It is not clear whether the motion of censure will be accepted by the Utah Republican Party or how many people have signed so far.
The bill goes on to say that Romney “shamed the state of Utah” when he was the only Republican senator to vote to condemn Trump during his first impeachment trial. Romney voted to remove Trump for abusing his power, pressuring Ukraine to launch an investigation into then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
The censorship then attacks Romney for opposing the effort to declare Trump’s second impeachment trial unconstitutional, since Trump was no longer in office, and for voting in favor of calling witnesses. In addition, he criticizes Romney for joining six other Republicans to condemn Trump on Saturday. It takes two-thirds of senators to remove a president, so Trump was acquitted. Utah Senator Mike Lee was among the Republicans who voted for absolution.
The motion of censure concludes that Romney used his “senatorial power and influence to undermine” Trump and states that “Romney appears to be an agent of the Establishment Deep State”.
Evan McMullin, a former Republican who ran for president as an independent in 2016, said he was amazed at the reaction against Romney from members of his own party.
“Mitt did more to defend the Constitution than any Republican congressman in modern history. He is serving the country and doing more to defend freedom than anyone else, ”said McMullin. “We need to be with him.”
McMullin, a frequent critic of Trump during his tenure, said Romney’s courage should be celebrated, not condemned.
“There is a great need and opportunity for Utah to lead this. There are many good Republicans in Utah who are committed to our country’s founding principles, exactly the same kind of leadership that Mitt is offering now, ”said McMullin. “These are not Republicans, Democrats or independents. It is about putting the country and the Constitution first. “
Utah Republican Party President Derek Brown says he is aware of the motion of censure, but has yet to see it.
“I have said that the best censorship occurs at the polls,” says Brown, a reference to 2024, when Romney would face re-election.
“There was not enough support to censor Senator Romney a year ago,” said Brown. “The impact of this type of resolution was minimal.”
The Central Committee of the Republican Party is scheduled to meet again in June and Brown says he has more important issues to resolve as the party’s president.
“My focus is to retain the people who joined the Utah Republican Party last year and reach out to those who left the party to bring them back,” he said.
Longtime Republican activist Janalee Tobias pushed the old petition on Sunday, where it quickly gained momentum in some corners of social media.
“This is the second time that he (Romney) has betrayed the people of Utah,” Tobias said in a telephone interview on Monday. “We assume that, as a Republican presidential candidate, he would be a staunch supporter of President Trump.
“Utah is a red state. We elected Mitt Romney to be part of the red team, ”she said. “Trump is the defender of the red team. Romney decided to play for the blue team and must resign. “
The Republican Party of Utah issued a statement on the impeachment vote on Monday, noting that Romney and Lee faced criticism. “The differences between our own Utah Republicans show a diversity of thinking, in contrast to the danger of a party fixing on ‘unanimity of thought’. There is power in our differences as a political party, and we expect each senator to explain his votes to the people of Utah. ”