Only three presidents have been formally impeached in American history – Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and now Donald Trump, all of whom were acquitted by a failure to convict in the Senate. The outcome of last Wednesday’s vote in the Senate fell largely along party lines; all Democrat and Independent seats in the Senate voted to convict Trump under Article II entailing an obstruction of Congress, while all Republican seats voted to acquit, according to metrics provided by The Washington Post.
However, the vote for Article I entailing an abuse of power made American history marking the first time a senator has voted to remove a president of his own party from power.
GOP Senator Mitt Romney from Utah and Republican Party nominee of the 2012 election against incumbent President Barack Obama cited inexcusable evidence of President Trump’s collusion with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in interfering with the upcoming 2020 presidential election.
“The president did in fact pressure a foreign government to corrupt our election process,” Senator Romney said in a speech explaining his reasons for voting against Trump as transcribed by The Atlantic. “And really, corrupting an election process in a democratic republic is about as abusive and egregious an act against the Constitution—and one’s oath—that I can imagine. It’s what autocrats do.”
Romney’s actions in the Senate have quickly made him a pariah in his own party, no small thanks to the culture of hyper party loyalty and tribalism within politics.
Within his own state of Utah, GOP leaders have drafted a resolution to censure Senator Romney.
“RESOLVED that the Utah Republican Party calls on Senator Mitt Romney to in good conscience vigorously support President Trump and his conservative America First agenda or vacate his seat,” reads an excerpt from the resolution that will be presented to the Republican Party state central committee meeting in Utah on Feb. 29, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
“A lot of us feel that it’s sort of an embarrassment to our party,” says Republican Brandon Beckham, who drafted and submitted the resolution which has since been co-sponsored by nine other Utah GOP committee members.
Republican Governor of Utah Gary Herbert does not support the resolution, however. “I would not have voted that way, based on my information, what I know, but far be it for me to tell somebody else what they should vote with their information,” said Gov. Herbert in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune.
Why would they censure him for being true to himself and true to his moral code, to his convictions?
Every time we don’t agree with somebody’s vote or their statement they make, are we going to censure them?