Sen. Mitt Romney is facing blowback in Utah over his vote to convict former President Donald Trump of inciting the violent Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.
The Salt Lake Tribune’s “The Rundown” newsletter reported Monday that a petition is circulating online calling for Mr. Romney’s censure, and suggesting he is “an agent for the Establishment Deep State.”
State and local Republican parties have used censure as a way to punish Republicans that broke ranks to join Democrats in their second impeachment push.
“Whereas; Senator Willard Mitt Romney has prioritized his personal and political vendetta against President Donald J. Trump ahead of the Constitution of the United States, the interest of We, the People, and the advancement of the Republican Platform,” the petition reads.
The petition knocks Mr. Romney for being the sole Republican to vote to convict Mr. Trump in the first impeachment trial and for voting against Sen. Rand Paul’s legislative push declaring the process unconstitutional.
The petition also says: “Whereas, Senator Willard Mitt Romney appears to be an agent for the Establishment Deep State.”
Mr. Romney said he voted to convict Mr. Trump on Saturday because he “attempted to corrupt the election.”
“President Trump incited the insurrection against Congress by using the power of his office to summon his supporters to Washington on January 6th and urging them to march on the Capitol during the counting of electoral votes. He did this despite the obvious and well-known threats of violence that day. President Trump also violated his oath of office by failing to protect the Capitol, the Vice President, and others in the Capitol. Each and every one of these conclusions compels me to support conviction,” Mr. Romney posted on Facebook.
He was one of seven GOP senators to side with Democrats and is not alone in being targeted for censure. The Republican Party of North Carolina and Louisiana quickly censured, respectively, Sen. Richard Burr and Sen. Bill Cassidy for their votes.
The Wyoming GOP censured Rep. Liz Cheney for her vote to impeach Mr. Trump. Ms. Cheney, a member of the House Republican leadership team, became the new darling of Democrats for her blistering rebuke of Mr. Trump.
Ms. Cheney was among 10 House Republicans, and the only leadership member, who voted in favor of Mr. Trump’s second impeachment.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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