Lee says Romney should not be punished for impeaching votes

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He says ‘there is enough room in the GOP for both of us.’

(Susan Walsh | AP file photo, pool) Utah Senator Mike Lee is shown here in a December 11, 2020 file photo. Lee defends Senator Mitt Romney’s vote to condemn former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial. Lee says Romney should not be punished for that vote because there is room for different opinions in the Republican Party.

February 19, 2021, 11:17 PM

Updated: February 20, 2021, 1:56 am

Senator Mike Lee defends Senator Mitt Romney’s vote to condemn former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial. While Lee disagrees with Romney’s conclusion, he doesn’t see it as a “cause for alarm.”

“Although Senator Romney and I usually vote together – and with a majority of Senate Republicans, we voted differently,” said Lee’s statement issued during his 2022 reelection campaign. “It shows that neither of us is blindly opposed to anyone. . “

Romney was the first US senator in history to vote to convict a president of his own political party when he was the only Republican to vote for conviction in Trump’s first impeachment trial in February 2020. Romney was joined in the second trial of six other Republicans who concluded Trump was guilty of inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. That riot killed five people, including a Capitol police officer.

Romney has been the subject of much contempt from Republicans for voting against the majority of his party at the end of the process. There has been a push on social media to disapprove him, with one attempt saying he “misrepresented himself as a Republican” and accused him of being an agent of the “deep state” that opposed Trump. Other Republicans in Utah have asked for his resignation for his vote.
When the rioters stormed through the Capitol on Jan. 6, Lee told The Salt Lake Tribune that Trump accidentally called his cell phone, believing he was trying to contact newly elected Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville. During the impeachment process, Lee, along with other Republican senators, conferred with Trump’s legal team to discuss their legal strategy before beginning their defense of the former president.

Lee flatly disagreed with the call to punish Romney for his vote.

“While Senator Romney and I sometimes come to different conclusions, there is plenty of room in the Republican tent for both of us – just as there is room for all Republicans in general elections, regardless of how they voted in the primaries,” Lee said. .

Lee’s words match those of the Utah Republican Party. The state GOP issued a statement following divergent impeachment votes by Lee and Romney, saying that “diversity of thought” benefits political parties and warned against “unanimity of thought.”

Lee’s public endorsement for Romney comes as he prepares for a third term in the US Senate next year. He is already facing backlash as the left-wing Alliance for a Better Utah launched the “Humans Against Mike Lee” campaign this week, with the goal of getting him out of his seat. He is also raising extensively for next year’s race, with an email claiming he is the prime target of the anti-Trump “Lincoln Project” group.

As Lee sees it, differences in political thinking will make the GOP stronger as they head into the 2022 midterm elections.

The Republican Party should work tirelessly to take back the House and Senate in 2022. Having different perspectives within our party leads to a more robust debate, which in turn yields more thoughtful policy outcomes – all of which will be of benefit to us. the Republicans in future elections… The Republican Party tent is open to anyone willing to support our shared, freedom-oriented goals, ”wrote Lee.

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