Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said Thursday that President Trump abused his authority and shouldn’t be in office, making him one of the few Republican leaders to sound off against Trump following his acquittal in the Senate’s impeachment trial the day before.
Scott called that vote in the GOP-controlled upper chamber inevitable at a news conference, according to ABC News.
“If they’d taken more testimony, maybe they’d have had more information and maybe other senators would have acted appropriately,” he said.
Asked if he would have voted to remove the president from office, Scott pointed out he isn’t a senator.
“I believe that the president abused his powers. It’s hard, in some respects for me, because I’m not a supporter,” he said. “I didn’t vote for the president, and I don’t believe that he should be in office.”
Back in September, Scott became the first GOP governor to support an impeachment hearing against Trump.
Scott offered praise for Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah), the only Republican to vote to convict Trump for abuse of power.
“It shows a lot about his character and integrity,” the governor said. “We can only hope that if we are in that same, similar situation that we’d do the same.”
He added that “it’s for the voters to decide in November whether” Trump should remain president.
The Senate acquitted Trump on both of the House-passed impeachment articles on Wednesday, ending the gravest threat yet to his presidency.
“It’s called total acquittal,” Trump said at a celebratory White House event on Thursday.
“The spirit for the Republican Party right now is, I think, stronger than it’s ever been in the history of our country,” he later added.