House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) praised Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) for being the only Republican to vote to convict President Trump on an article of impeachment.
Romney, the GOP’s 2012 nominee for president, voted to convict Trump on abuse of power. He did not vote to convict on the second article of obstruction of Congress.
“I do want to salute Mitt Romney,” Schumer told reporters after the vote on Wednesday. “The pressure on every Republican was enormous. … The fact that this is bipartisan holds up a beacon to what was right and what was wrong.”
According to CNN, Pelosi later called Romney’s move “very courageous.” The two leaders followed a flood of support from other Democratic lawmakers.
On Wednesday the Senate voted 48-52 on the abuse of power charge and 47-53 on the obstruction charge, falling short of the two-thirds requirement for convicting Trump and removing him office. Romney was the only member of the chamber who crossed party lines for the vote.
Romney has received ire from Republican operatives, including the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., as well as his niece, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDanniel, and his former campaign press secretary, Rick Gorka.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he was “surprised and disappointed” by Romney’s decision, but indicated that he would not face a formal punishment from the caucus.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Romney said his decision to convict Trump was a hard one. He said he expected some backlash from his decision.
“I’m aware there are people in my party and in my state who will strenuously disapprove of my decision and in some quarters I will be vehemently denounced. I’m sure to hear abuse from the president and his supporters,” he said. “…Does anyone seriously believe that I would consent to these consequences other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before God demanded of me?”