Pennsylvania GOP Planning Meeting To Potentially Censure Sen. Pat Toomey After Vote To Convict Donald Trump
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania's Republican Party is planning a meeting to potentially censure U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey over his vote to convict Donald Trump during the former president's second impeachment trial, county party officials said Monday.
County party chairs said the state GOP chairman, Lawrence Tabas, emailed them shortly after Saturday's impeachment vote to tell them that a meeting is being planned to discuss the Senate's action.
That meeting is expected to involve a discussion about censuring Toomey for his vote, which made him one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump of "incitement of insurrection."
Tabas did not return messages Monday, but a number of county parties have already moved to censure Toomey, even before Saturday's vote.
A resolution to censure Toomey came up for discussion at the state party's leadership committee meeting on Feb. 6, weeks after Toomey had said Trump committed "impeachable offenses" in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. They decided against bringing it to a vote by the full state committee after speaking with Toomey about it, county party chairs said.
Toomey told them that he would consider voting against the constitutionality of the impeachment proceeding and, if the Senate deemed it to be constitutional, that he would consider voting to acquit Trump, county party chairs said.
Toomey last Tuesday voted to back the constitutionality of the impeachment trial.
Several county parties already voted to censure Toomey even before Saturday's vote. In Washington County, GOP chairman Dave Ball said party members felt betrayed by Toomey.
That said, Ball also said a state party censure of Toomey would be counterproductive, when the state party could be putting its energy into winning future election contests.
The second-term Toomey is not running for re-election in 2022, and likely won't receive invitations to speak at party events or endorse party candidates, Ball said.
"As far as we're concerned, his political career is over in this state, even if he were to try to run again," Ball said. "His legacy is tarnished beyond repair. I don't know exactly how you punish someone further and does it serve a purpose."
The York County Republican Party voted to censure Toomey after he voted to convict Trump.
One county party, in Cambria County, is planning to vote to censure Toomey during its regular Tuesday meeting, said Jackie Kulback, the county party chair.
Ultimately, Trump was acquitted of the charge because the 57-43 vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for conviction.
Lawrence County's GOP voted to censure Toomey even before the trial, based on criticism of Trump's actions on Jan. 6. The county party chairman, Gale E. Measel Jr., characterized it as a reaction to Toomey "not standing up for fellow Republicans."
After the impeachment vote, Tabas issued a statement that said nothing about censuring Toomey.
It criticized the impeachment proceeding as "an unconstitutional theft of time and energy that did absolutely nothing to unify or help the American people" and said he shared "the disappointment of many of our grassroots leaders and volunteers over Senator Toomey's vote today."
(Copyright 2021 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
