Sen. Mitt Romney shocked America this week when he announced that he would vote for the conviction of President Trump for abuse of power.
As Romney himself noted in his speech, Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. By voting to oust the president, Romney indicated he has no confidence in its leadership, nor any loyalty to the party as an institution. This decision, as demonstrated by Romney’s subsequent media tour, was born rather more out of pride than principle and should result in devastating consequences — including but not limited to censure and expulsion.
Though former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential prospects have dimmed following the Iowa caucus results, it remains a very real possibility that Romney would endorse his friend, should he emerge as the Democratic presidential nominee. Despite how evident it was that Biden and his son abused their power and influence for financial benefit, Romney praised Biden as a “man of honor” as recently as October.
Indeed, Biden was an esteemed guest at Romney’s annual Park City retreat in 2017, where Biden urged Romney to pursue a Senate run. At the 2018 retreat, Romney hosted New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a turncoat former Republican who had closely aligned with Romney during the latter’s tenure as Massachusetts governor.
Before you know it, Romney will be trotted out as a “principled” defector, or even as a vice presidential nominee, at this summer’s Democratic National Convention. But his prompt expulsion from the party would prevent him from doing further damage.
Trump made a sincere effort to unify the Republican Party and its various warring factions. Far from his media portrayal as a vindictive and vengeful figure, he has made a concerted effort to bring past adversaries into the fold following his 2016 victory. Many former Never Trumpers, from Mike Lee to Lindsey Graham, subsequently developed warm and productive relationships with this president despite still harboring deep policy disagreements.
Romney himself was interviewed for the position of secretary of state, Trump tapped his niece to lead the Republican National Committee, and Romney later received Trump’s enthusiastic endorsement in his bid for the U.S. Senate.
However, it quickly became apparent that Romney was unwilling to reciprocate the president’s graciousness. He began to snipe at Trump at every turn, a tendency that only accelerated when he received the platform of a Senate seat. It became clear that his return to politics was a gambit to facilitate a return to business as usual following Trump’s departure from office — a restoration of his stale brand of Republicanism that had been loudly rejected by the American electorate in 2012.
Despite Romney’s Michigan ties, he was defeated by President Barack Obama in that state by a crushing 9.5-point margin in 2012. The same was true across the upper Midwest, which became a “blue wall” of Democratic strongholds. Democrats like Romney, not just because he shares their goal of forcing out the duly-elected president of the United States, but also because they know he will lead the Republican Party back to the reservation.
If the GOP returns to its old pre-Trump agenda of globalist trade agreements, open borders, and foreign military adventurism, it will guarantee a slew of future Democratic victories up and down the ballot.
The only reasonable step at this point is to strip Romney of his committee assignments and expel him from the Senate Republican caucus. While there is truth to Romney’s claim that he votes for the bulk of the administration’s policy proposals, if he is truly as principled as he claims to be, he will continue to do so as an independent senator.
In his speech Wednesday, Romney declared that the impeachment verdict “will in fact be appealed to a higher court: the judgment of the American people.”
He is correct. The American people should have a vote on both the Trump presidency and on a previously Trump-endorsed senator who went on to betray the will of his constituents. With the backing of national party leadership, the Utah state legislature should immediately pass H.B. 217 in order to allow for the recall of Sen. Romney. This would force him to stand for reelection this year, sharing a ballot with the Democratic presidential nominee he has already done so much to assist.
Mark Ivanyo is a Houston-based lawyer and the legislative director of Republicans for National Renewal.
