Sen. Ben Sasse Hits Back at Nebraska State GOP’s Plan to Censure Him for Trump Criticism: ‘Politics Isn’t About the Worship of One Weird Dude’
Republican senator and frequent Trump critic Ben Sasse is facing a backlash from his home state party, as it prepares a publicly condemn the GOP politician for insufficient loyalty to Donald Trump.
According to NewsChannel Nebraska, the state party is preparing a resolution to formally censure Sasse, and it would be voted on before the impeachment trial of Trump is completed. Though Sasse hasn’t indicated how he will vote in the upcoming Senate trial of the former president, he did issue a blistering statement in mid-January about Trump’s role in fomenting the Capitol insurrection.
The resolution cites Sasse’s “stated support of the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump” as well as his “defamatory public statements” criticizing fellow GOP Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for their votes to challenge the Electoral College certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.
In response, Sasse put out a five-minute YouTube video, pushing back on his state party’s planned, formal rebuke.
“What Americans saw three weeks ago was ugly shameful mob violence to disrupt a constitutionally mandated meeting of Congress to affirm that peaceful transfer of power,” Sasse said. “It happened because the president lied to you.”
The GOP senator then called out what he said was the rank partisan hypocrisy at work — and the pro-Trump’s crowd embrace of a cult of personality.
“Let’s be clear: The anger in this state party has never been about me violating principle or abandoning conservative policy — I’m one of the most conservative voters in the Senate — the anger’s always been simply about me not bending the knee to one guy,” Sasse claimed. “If that president were a Democrat, we both know how you’d respond. But, because he had ‘Republican’ behind his name, you’re defending him. Something has definitely changes over the past four years — but it’s not me,
“You are welcome to censure me again, but let’s be clear about why this is happening,” he added. “It’s because I still believe, as you used to, that politics isn’t about the weird worship of one dude.”
