The Utah Republican Party said Monday that it doesn’t have any plans to censure Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) for his vote to convict former President Donald Trump over last month’s deadly U.S. Capitol riot.
“As a party, we are focused on supporting our elected officials and unifying around those principles that got them elected,” Utah GOP party chairman Derek Brown said in an interview with FOX 13. “At this point, we believe it is crucial to focus on unifying our party, working together to retain those new voters who joined the Republican Party this last year, while bringing back any who may have left.”
Brown’s comments come as hundreds of Utah Republicans have signed an online petition slamming Romney’s impeachment vote, while calling for the senator to be censured.
“Senator Willard Mitt Romney has failed, and continues to fail, to represent the average conservative Utah Republican voter,” reads the petition, accusing Romney of having “misrepresented himself as a Republican” and “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.”
“Senator Willard Mitt Romney has condoned false and misleading statements that have led the 117th Congress of the United States to further conduct an illegal and unconstitutional 2nd Impeachment proceeding against President Donald J. Trump,” the petition adds. “Whereas; the Utah Republican Party leadership has failed to issue a censure. Therefore; be it resolved that; We, the undersigned voters, censure Senator Willard Mitt Romney.”
Over the weekend, Romney and six other Republican senators joined Senate Democrats to convict former President Donald Trump over the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“After careful consideration of the respective counsels’ arguments, I have concluded that President Trump is guilty of the charge made by the House of Representatives. President Trump attempted to corrupt the election by pressuring the Secretary of State of Georgia to falsify the election results in his state,” Romney said in a statement after casting his vote. “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.”
In addition to Romney, Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Richard Burr (R-NC), Susan Collins (R-ME), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Pat Toomey (R-PA) voted to convict Trump.
The former president was ultimately acquitted in a 57-43 vote.