Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) finds himself in the firing line back in his home state after he voted to convict ex-President Donald Trump in the Senate impeachment trial on Saturday, with the North Carolina Republican Party now making plans to censure the senator on Monday night.
Kyshia Lineberger, who serves as the national committeewoman for the state’s GOP, told the Raleigh News and Observer on Sunday that Burr had “betrayed the trust of his constituents” with his vote.
“I am going to vote to censure Sen. Richard Burr on behalf of the grassroots across the state and because I do truly feel that his vote was improper,” said Lineberger. “I’m really disheartened by his choice and his vote.”
Burr explained in a statement after the vote on Saturday that though he still stood by his first two votes that the trial was unconstitutional because Trump was no longer in office (many constitutional experts have disputed this argument), he believed there was “compelling” evidence that Trump had incited the deadly insurrection on January 6.
“I do not make this decision lightly, but I believe it is necessary,” the North Carolina Republican said. “By what he did and by what he did not do, President Trump violated his oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Burr will not run for reelection in 2022.
TPM has reached out to Burr’s office for comment.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who had also unexpectedly voted to convict Trump, similarly finds himself in hot water with his state party, which censured him on Saturday after the vote.
Burr and Cassidy were among the seven Republican senators who sided with all 50 Democrats in the trial. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Ben Sasse (R-NE) also broke from their party in the final vote.
