Utah lawmakers said Tuesday they won’t consider proposals that could censure or recall U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney following his vote to convict in President Donald Trump’ impeachment trial.
Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson said the GOP caucus decided not to advance either proposal following a “robust debate” behind closed doors. Instead, Wilson will be presenting a citation thanking the president for his administration’s work on issues “critical to Utah.” The citation will also urge Congress to put the contentious process behind them.
Utah Senate leaders have already signaled support for that idea, but little appetite for publicly rebuking Romney.
Romney returned to Utah the day after his vote, which set off a wave of national GOP anger, to explain his decision to legislative leaders. That seemed to mollify some concerns from lawmakers, one of him had introduced a resolution to publicly rebuke him. A second, separate proposal didn’t mention Romney by name but would have created a way to recall a sitting senator. It likely would have been unconstitutional if passed.
Support for Trump isn’t as strong in Utah as in other conservative states, but Romney’s vote to convict on the abuse of power article following an emotional speech did stir Republican anger.
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