Retiring Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey has been censured by several county GOP committees in Pennsylvania for voting to convict former President Donald Trump for his role in allegedly inciting the January 6 capitol riots.
GOP leaders in Lawrence, Washington, York, Centre and Clarion county passed resolutions to censure the retiring senator following the conclusion of Saturday’s impeachment vote in the Senate, as reported by CBS13.
Clarion County’s censure document said in part that “proceeding with articles of impeachment against a President who is already out of office is constitutionally infirm and a purely self-serving…putative action by those with establishment political objectives.” According to CBS13.
The county GOP released a statement attributed to committee chairman Rick Rathfon on their website, saying Toomey’s vote “has already inflicted damage on the Republican Party of Pennsylvania” and would further enrage voters to the point of leaving the party.
York County released a statement regarding Toomey’s vote on Sunday, with State House Representative Dawn Keefer stating that the republican committee had “reached the limits of its frustration.” Jeff Piccola, the chairman of the county GOP, added that it was “imperative” that the county party no longer “recognizes him as a credible representative of our party.”
“His participation in and support of a kangaroo court trial created by crazed, partisan Democrats, over which the Supreme Court Chief Justice refused to preside, is insulting to all Pennsylvanians.” Piccola added.
The Washington county GOP also posted their own message, along with their motion to censure Senator Toomey, with chairman Dave Ball stating that Toomey’s vote to declare the impeachment as constitutional and voting for conviction as a “vote that brings dishonor to the party and does not reflect the will of the Republicans of Pennsylvania.”
“We have acted decisively to send a very strong message to Senator Toomey that he works for us and what he is doing is not in the interest of his constituents or our Party.” Ball continued, urging the party to “stand solid and united.”
The Pennsylvania State GOP committee chairman Lawrence Tabas released a statement after the trial, calling the trial an “unconstitutional theft of time and energy” and called Toomey’s vote “disappointing,” but stopped short of supporting a censure vote from the state party.
Toomey was one of the seven republican defectors in the final impeachment vote to convict the president on a single charge of “inciting an insurrection” for his role in the January 6 Capitol Hill riots, as reported by The Hill. The final vote on the second impeachment was 57-43 in favor of convicting, falling ten short of a conviction.
During the trial, Senator Toomey harshly criticized Trump’s repeated echoing of “Conspiracy theories” related to the 2020 Presidential election, specifically surrounding the use of mail-in ballots and the constitutionality of the method. Toomey also stated that, while the mob was inside the Capitol building, he “urged” the mob to prevent the count from continuing, as reported by The Hill. Toomey did not vote in favor of calling witnesses.
“His betrayal of the Constitution and his oath of office required conviction,” Toomey said during the impeachment trial according to The Hill.
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