Ohio GOP slams lawmaker after vote to impeach

The Ohio Republican Party voted Friday to censure twoterm U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, who voted with nine other House Republicans to impeach former President Donald Trump over the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol attack by a pro-Trump mob.

The state party also agreed in a separate vote that Gonzalez should step down.

Ohio GOP Chairman Bob Paduchik said it is not the vote itself that led to Gonzalez’s public reprimand, but that the congressman backed what he called “an unconstitutional, politically motivated process that served no purpose.”

“Republicans and Democratic members alike have the right to vote in any way they so choose,” Paduchik said in an emailed statement. “This committee also has a right to stand on principle and conviction.”

The state party censure was a long time coming, given the amount of backlash Gonzalez faced among Republicans back home for his Jan. 13 vote. At the end of February, Trump made his first 2022 primary endorsement against an incumbent Republican, throwing his support behind former Trump White House aide Max Miller, who is challenging Gonzalez for his seat in the Cleveland and Akron suburbs.

Gonzalez’s spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

The Ohio congressman is not the first among the Republicans who voted to impeach Trump to face political repercussions. Almost all of the 10 House Republicans have been admonished by either their state or local parties. And state Republican committees in North Carolina and Louisiana censured their Republican senators, Richard Burr and Bill Cassidy, respectively, for voting to convict Trump after the Senate trial.

Shortly after his impeachment vote, Gonzalez went on a conservative podcast to explain it:

“You have to love your country and you have to adhere to your oath more strongly than you do your job, and you know I don’t know what political fate will play out,” he said. “If my fate is ultimately that I don’t get to come back, I will do that at peace.”

RALLY AROUND TRUMP

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., had a message Thursday night for Republicans attempting to shed the party of its association with Trump.

“Can we move forward without President Trump? The answer is no,” Graham said in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

In response to the GOP aiming to remove U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., from her leadership post as third-ranking House Republican, Graham said he disagreed with her criticism of Trump and the assessment that the party is stronger without the former president.

“I’ve always liked Liz Cheney, but she’s made a determination that the Republican Party can’t grow with President Trump,” Graham continued. “I’ve determined we can’t grow without him.”

Graham’s comments were made as the push to replace Cheney as the third-ranking House Republican intensified this week. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was caught on a hot microphone Tuesday complaining about Cheney, saying, “I’ve had it with her … someone just has to bring a motion.” Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the second-ranking Republican in the House, endorsed Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who appears to be the favorite to succeed Cheney.

Cheney on Wednesday urged Republicans “to choose truth and fidelity to the Constitution” and rebuke Trumpism, adding that she would continue to speak out against what Trump has done to her party.

Critics were quick to slam Graham, and his comments were trending on social media well into Friday. U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., tweeted a video of Graham’s comments with lyrics to the Michael Bolton song “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?”

But Graham was steadfast in his stance that the party needed Trump to attract new talent in hope of taking back the Senate or House in next year’s midterm elections. He told Hannity that potential GOP candidates are attracted to “the Trump Republican Party,” saying conservatives who were against “economic populism” and the former president’s “America First agenda” were not seeing the present and future of the party.

“If you don’t get that as a Republican, you’re making the biggest mistake in the history of the Republican Party,” he said.