After denouncing efforts to overturn election results and expressing disapproval over former President Donald Trump‘s role in inciting the U.S. Capitol riot, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) has been censured by the Nebraska Republican party. The resolution states that Sasse “warrants and shall incur the penalty of CENSURE.” The censure is to be imposed on February 13. This is not the first time Sasse has incurred such a penalty – in 2016, he was censured by the state GOP due to his insufficient support for Trump.
Sasse released a video addressed to the Nebraska GOP State Central Committee, in which he stated: “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. January 6th is going to leave a scar. For 220 years, one of the most beautiful things about America has been our peaceful transfer of power. But 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.”
Regarding his censure, Sasse said, “You are welcome to censure me again, but let’s be clear about why this is happening: It’s because I still believe – as you used to – that politics isn’t about the weird worship of one dude. The party could purge Trump skeptics, but I’d like to convince you that not only is this ‘civic cancer’ for the nation, it’s also terrible for our party.”
Sasse has criticized Trump in the past for attempting to overturn the results of the election. Last December he wrote on Facebook: “The president and his allies are playing with fire. They have been asking – first the courts, then state legislatures, now the Congress – to overturn the results of a presidential election. They have unsuccessfully called on judges and are now calling on federal officeholders to invalidate millions and millions of votes. If you make big claims, you had better have the evidence. But the president doesn’t and neither do the institutional arsonist members of Congress who will object to the Electoral College vote.”
