Dave Ball, the Washington County, Pennsylvania, Republican Party chair, is blasting Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) for his vote to convict former President Donald Trump.
“We did not send him there to vote his conscience. We did not send him there to do the right thing or whatever he said he was doing. We sent him there to represent us,” Ball said during an appearance on Pittsburgh-area CBS affiliate KDKA-TV.
He suggested Toomey was not “straightforward” with party leaders on impeachment.
Watch his interview below:
Republican leaders from Pennsylvania counties including Clarion, Lawrence, Washington, York, and Centre have voted to censure Toomey following his vote.
Toomey said in a statement on Saturday, “I was one of the 74 million Americans who voted for President Trump, in part because of the many accomplishments of his administration. Unfortunately, his behavior after the election betrayed the confidence millions of us placed in him.”
He continued, “His betrayal of the Constitution and his oath of office required conviction.”
Toomey accused Trump of making “dishonest, systematic attempts to convince supporters that he had won” the November election.
“His lawful, but unsuccessful, legal challenges failed due to lack of evidence. Then, he applied intense pressure on state and local officials to reverse the election outcomes in their states,” Toomey added.
He said Trump “inflamed” his supporters’ “passions by repeating disproven allegations about widespread fraud.”
Toomey stressed the former president explicitly attempted to prevent a peaceful transfer of power.
Other senators received harsh criticism for their votes to convict Trump, including Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.).
Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party Michael Whatley released a statement on Monday in response to Burr’s vote, as IJR reported.
“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,” Whatley said.
The Louisiana Republican Party condemned Cassidy’s vote on Saturday, as IJR reported.
“We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the vote today by Sen. Cassidy to convict former President Trump. Fortunately, clearer heads prevailed and President Trump has been acquitted of the impeachment charge filed against him,” the party tweeted.
