Utah lawmakers will not consider measures to censure or recall Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) after he was the only Republican senator to vote to convict President Trump on one of two articles of impeachment earlier this month.
Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson (R) said that following a closed caucus meeting, Republican lawmakers had determined they would not move forward with either the recall or censure resolution and would instead push a citation thanking Trump for “all the great things he’s done for the state of Utah,” the Deseret News reported.
“Many people disagree with the conclusion Sen. Romney came to, and I think what we can kind of conclude from this conversation is we’re going to agree to disagree,” Wilson said, according to the newspaper. “We understand the thoughtful process Sen. Romney went through. Many people disagree with it, and we think it’s probably time to move on.”
“That’s where we’re at,” Senate President Stuart Adams (R) told reporters. “We’re looking for things that are positive, and this citation is positive.”
The left-leaning Alliance for a Better Utah blasted the citation, saying it showed state lawmakers were “afraid of a bully.”
“Following Senator Romney’s courageous vote, Speaker Wilson and Senate President Adams are deeply fearful that President Trump will retaliate against the entire state of Utah out of petty vindictiveness,” Alliance president Chase Thomas said in a statement Wednesday. “While the citation itself reflects the majority leaderships’ support for the President, the timing reveals just how terrified they are of him as well. This desperate attempt to mitigate the fallout from Senator Romney’s vote is not normal or acceptable behavior.”