Romney wins JFK ‘profile in courage’ award for impeachment vote

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is receiving a profile in courage award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation for his “historic vote” to impeach then-President Trump during his first impeachment trial last year, the foundation announced on Friday.

“Senator Romney‘s commitment to our Constitution makes him a worthy successor to the senators who inspired my father to write ‘Profiles in Courage,’” former Ambassador Caroline Kennedy said in a statement. “He reminds us that our Democracy depends on the courage, conscience and character of our elected officials.”

Romney was the sole Republican senator to vote to impeach Trump last February on a charge of abusing his power over the former president’s effort to press Ukraine to investigate now-President Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s dealings in Ukraine. In doing so, Romney made history: He became the first U.S. senator to vote to convict a president of his own party on an impeachment charge.

Romney then joined six other GOP senators in February in voting to impeach Trump, after he left office, over his role in the Jan. 6 mob attack at the Capitol. 

Romney, who drew consistent ire from Trump for his vote, in a statement Friday invoked his father, who the GOP senator said “did what was right regardless of consequence.”

“I aspire to his example, though I have failed from time to time. We must subordinate our political fortunes to the causes of freedom, equal opportunity and truth, particularly as they are under assault here and abroad,” Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, said.

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, named after the 35th U.S. president, established the award in 1989 to honor his commitment to public service. It is presented each year to mark Kennedy’s birthday on May 29. The award is given to public servants who the foundation judges have demonstrated “politically courageous leadership.”