GOP censures Sen. Pat Toomey over Trump vote

Republican senator rebuked over impeachment trial vote

Toomey was censured for his vote to convict former President Donald Trump of incitement of insurrection.

The Berks County Republican Committee voted unanimously Saturday to censure U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey for his vote to convict former President Donald Trump of incitement of insurrection at the end of Trump’s impeachment trial.

Clay Breece, chairman, said every member present at the meeting voted to censure Toomey for casting a vote that directly went against the preference and will of Berks voters.

It also chastised the senator for taking part in an impeachment trial that violated the constitution by not having the chief justice of the Supreme Court presiding over the proceedings.

“This censure is a sad commentary on our times,” Breece said in phone interview a few hours after the vote. “The constitutional process of impeachment has been politicized and used as a weapon against political opponents.”

Censure votes are formal rebukes by an organization against one of its members.

The move adds Berks to a long list of county GOP committees across the state that have sought to express their disapproval with the Republican for voting against Trump. However, a vote by the Republican State Committee on March 1 fell short on censuring Toomey for his impeachment vote.

Toomey, who is not running for reelection in 2022, was among only seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump last month of incitement of insurrection in the January riot at the Capitol.

The Senate ultimately acquitted Trump — falling 10 votes short of the threshold required for conviction.

A spokesman for Toomey declined to comment on the censure vote Saturday, but pointed to his comments immediately after the impeachment trial.

In those comments to reporters, Toomey condemned Trump for launching a dishonest effort to convince supporters that he had won the election. He also derided the former president for his attempts to pressure state officials to reverse the outcome and, ultimately, summoning supporters to Washington where he repeated unproven allegations about widespread fraud.

Toomey also acknowledged that he would likely face backlash from his own party for his vote.

“I recognize that a majority of Republicans will probably disagree with this decision,” he told reporters. “I do think it’s important as a party to be able to distinguish between some terrific successes of this administration. The fact that the Sen. Pat Toomey departs Capitol Hill on Feb. 13 after the Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial in the Senate. president did stand up to and against some bad policies and some bad trends — those things can be true and it can also be true that his behavior after the election became completely unacceptable.

“I hope that we get to the point where we can come together as a party and recognize those things.”