Romney on NRSC awarding Trump: Not ‘my preference’

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Monday weighed in on the GOP Senate campaign arm presenting a new award to former President Trump, telling reporters the decision “would not have been my preference.”

The former Republican presidential nominee was asked by reporters how he felt about the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who chairs it, “bestowing” an award on Trump.

“Not my call. They’re certainly free to do whatever they’d like to do. As you know, having voted twice to remove him from office, that would not have been my preference,” he said.

The NRSC presented the inaugural Champion for Freedom Award to Trump over the weekend during a donor retreat. In a statement, the committee described the honor as intended for “conservative leaders who have worked tirelessly to create good jobs, protect the values that make our country great, and stop the Democrats’ socialist agenda.”

“President Trump fought for American workers, secured the border, and protected our constitutional rights,” Scott said. “We are grateful for his service to our country and are honored to present him with the NRSC’s first Champion for Freedom award.”

Romney was the only Senate Republican who voted to convict Trump in both of his impeachments. In February of last year, he was the only GOP senator to vote to convict Trump of the charge of abuse of power.

The vote made Romney the first U.S. senator to vote to convict a president of his own party on an impeachment charge.

In March of this year, Romney was awarded a profile in courage award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation for his “historic vote” to impeach Trump in 2020.

Jordain Carney contributed to this report.