Fresh off his stunning vote to remove President Donald Trump from office, Sen. Mitt Romney took a red-eye flight to visit with Utah Republican legislative leaders and explain his decision.
Romney avoided reporters during his whirlwind visit to the Hill, and legislative staffers took measures to keep the media away from Romney during his visit. During a hastily called press availability House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Layton, said he appreciated the opportunity to speak with Romney in person.
“I think it actually took a lot of courage to do that in the wake of what happened yesterday because many of us here are disappointed in what happened and disagree at least to some degree with the decision that was made,” said Wilson. “We appreciate him coming out and explaining his decision.”
On Wednesday, Romney shocked the political world by becoming the first U.S. Senator to vote to convict a president in the same party in an impeachment trial. He voted to convict Trump on the charge of abuse of power but voted to acquit him on charges that he obstructed Congress. The Senate voted 52-48 to acquit on the first article of impeachment and 53-47 on the second, far short of the 2/3 needed to convict and remove him from office.
Tensions on the Hill among Republicans are running high following Romney’s decision, but sources say the meetings between Romney and legislative leadership were cordial and relaxed.
“It was an adult discussion about some difficult subjects, but there was no anger or animosity,” said one person who was privy to the conversation. They agreed to speak on background because they were not authorized to talk about the interactions.
“It was a frank conversation and people shared their opinions back and forth,” said Wilson. “I think he’s got a good understanding of where we’re coming from and we’ve got a better understanding of where he’s coming from.”
Senate Majority Whip Daniel Hemmert, R-Orem, said Romney’s meeting with Senate leadership was brief but enlightening.
“He explained the reasons behind his vote in person,” said Hemmert. “He basically repeated the speech he gave on the floor of the senate before he cast his vote. He wasn’t with us long before leaving to meet with House leadership.”
House Minority Leader Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, said he wasn’t disappointed that Romney did not meet with minority leadership during his whirlwind trip to the Hill.
“I’m not going to say one negative thing about Senator Romney today,” joked King.
Needless to say, several Republicans in the legislature are not happy with Romney’s decision. Rep. Phil Layman, R-Blanding, is going to introduce a resolution that praises President Donald Trump for all of his help in Utah but goes on to “censure” Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, for voting in favor of impeaching the president.
Lyman told UtahPolicy.com that he’s bringing the resolution because he, and others in the House, believe the president has been a good friend of Utah issues, most specifically by executive order the size of the Obama-created Bears Ears National Monument and the Clinton-created Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument, both are either in or near Lyman’s southwestern district.
Romney’s interaction with legislative Republicans was much more courteous than the reaction from other Republicans. President Trump celebrated his acquittal during a speech at the White House Wednesday morning, calling his opponents “evil.” He took a veiled swipe at Romney, saying he used “religion as a crutch” when deciding how to vote.
Sen. Mike Lee said he disagreed with Romney’s decision to vote to remove Trump from office because the impeachment charges were “not backed by a scintilla of credible evidence.”
Donald Trump, Jr. called for Romney to be expelled from the Republican Senate Caucus for his vote and to be kicked out of the Republican Party.
This won’t be Romney’s last visit with lawmakers this session. He’s scheduled to return to the legislature on February 28 to give his annual report to lawmakers. He’ll meet with both Republicans and Democrats then.
