WASHINGTON (Reuters) – North Carolina Republican leaders will meet on Monday to discuss Senator Richard Burr’s vote to convict former U.S. President Donald Trump during his impeachment trial, after he was acquitted of a charge of inciting the deadly Capitol riot, a party spokesman said.
Burr, who has said he does not plan to seek reelection in 2022, was one of just seven out of the 50 Republican senators to vote to convict Trump for inciting his supporters’ Jan. 6 attack on Congress, which left five people dead.
Trump’s second Senate impeachment trial concluded on Saturday with a 57-43 vote in favor of convicting. The tally fell short of the two-thirds needed to secure conviction.
Tim Wigginton, the state party spokesman, said in an email the Republicans would release a statement after Monday night’s meeting. Multiple media outlets said the officials would meet to decide whether to censure Burr.
“The President bears responsibility for these tragic events,” Burr said last week in a statement. “The evidence is compelling that President Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection.”
North Carolina Republican Chairman Michael Whatley condemned Burr for voting against the former president last week, as a “shocking and disappointing” abdication of his duty to voters.
Louisiana’s Republican Party voted on Saturday to censure Senator Bill Cassidy for voting to convict Trump. The party’s leader in Pennsylvania, Lawrence Tabas, has publicly criticized Senator Pat Toomey for voting to convict.
The other four Republicans who voted to convict were Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney and Ben Sasse.
The Republican Party faces internal conflict since Trump left office on Jan. 20, with many officials remaining publicly loyal to Trump and his devoted base of voters, while others including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have publicly criticized the former president, accusing him of sparking the Capitol violence.
(Reporting by Joel Schectman; Editing by Scott Malone and Richard Chang)
