NC GOP Unanimously Censures Sen. Richard Burr for Voting to Convict Trump

The North Carolina Republican Party unanimously voted to censure homestate Sen. Richard Burr (R) for his decision to vote in favor of an impeachment conviction of former President Donald Trump for inciting the Capitol insurrection

According to the Associated Press, the state party’s central committee passed the resolution on Monday, just two days after the Senate acquitted Trump. Though the impeachment vote was the most bipartisan in U.S. history, with seven Republicans joining the 50 Democrats, it fell short of the Constitutional threshold of two-thirds necessary for conviction.

The intra-party sanction of Burr stands as just the latest example of a state GOP reinforcing its loyalty to Trump. Before the Senate vote, the Nebraska GOP signaled their intention to publicly rebuke Sen. Ben Sasse (R) for his rhetorical takedown of Trump’s actions on January 6th. And the House GOP’s third-highest leader, Rep. Liz Cheney (WY), was also censured last week after her vote to impeach Trump. And the Louisiana state GOP has just censured Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) for his vote this past Saturday finding Trump guilty (though the party, notably, did not censure Ku Klux Klan member David Duke after he won the party’s gubernatorial nomination in 1991).

“It’s important for the party to go ahead and put out a vote and a statement that it disagrees with Senator Burr’s vote, but in terms of practical impacts, it is just that. It’s a resolution,” NC GOP state party chairman Michael Whatley said.

Burr, a three-term senator who will be retiring once his current term expires in 2022, responded to the move.

“It is truly a sad day for North Carolina Republicans,” Burr said. “My party’s leadership has chosen loyalty to one man over the core principles of the Republican Party and the founders of our great nation.”