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North Carolina GOP To Vote On Censure of Senator Burr After Trump Conviction Vote

   DailyWire.com
Senator Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, listens during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee confirmation hearing for Miguel Cardona, U.S. secretary of education nominee for U.S. President Joe Biden, in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. Biden's vow to reopen most U.S. schools in his first 100 days could reignite clashes among educators, their unions, administrators and parents over how to safely return when many teachers haven't received the Covid-19 vaccine. Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times/Bloomberg
Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images

On Monday night, the North Carolina Republican Party will vote on whether to censure Sen. Richard Burr due to his vote to convict Donald Trump in the president’s second impeachment trial.

The United States Senate website defines a “censure” as “a formal statement of disapproval…that can have a powerful psychological effect on a member and his/her relationships in the Senate.” It does not remove a senator from office.

After Burr voted to convict the former president, he was met with criticism from members of his own party. North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley released a statement on Saturday saying, “North Carolina Republicans sent Senator Burr to the United States Senate to uphold the Constitution and his vote today to convict in a trial that he declared unconstitutional is shocking and disappointing.”

Burr announced in 2016 that he would not be seeking reelection in 2022. His vote to convict has potentially opened up more pathways for Lara Trump to successfully run for his seat in 2022.

As reported by The Daily Wire on Sunday, Sen. Lindsay Graham discussed Trump’s chance for a Senate seat:

“North Carolina, the biggest winner I think of this whole impeachment trial, is Lara Trump,” Graham told Fox News host Chris Wallace. “My dear friend Richard Burr, who I like and have been friends to a long time, just made Lara Trump almost the certain nominee for the Senate seat in North Carolina to replace him if she runs.”

“I certainly will be behind her because I think she represents the future of the Republican Party,” added Graham.

Burr explained his conviction vote in a statement on Saturday, describing January 6 as “a grim day in our nation’s history.” He called the attack “an attempt to undermine our democratic institutions and overrule the will of the American people through violence, intimidation, and force.”

Burr admitted that he thought it was unconstitutional to impeach a president who is no longer in office when the process began, however, he added that because the majority in the Senate voted to proceed, “the question of constitutionality is now established precedent.”

He called himself an “impartial juror” with a role “to determine whether House managers have sufficiently made the case for the article of impeachment against President Trump.”

His statement continued:

“The facts are clear. The President promoted unfounded conspiracy theories to cast doubt on the integrity of a free and fair election because he did not like the results. As Congress met to certify the election results, the President directed his supporters to go to the Capitol to disrupt the lawful proceedings required by the Constitution. When the crowd became violent, the President used his office to first inflame the situation instead of immediately calling for an end to the assault.”

Burr added that on January 6, he said Trump bears responsibility for the events that took place.

The senior senator from North Carolina noted that he did not make the decision lightly, and his hope is that America can “begin to move forward and focus on the critical issues facing our country today.”

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