North Carolina GOP censures Sen. Burr for Trump impeachment vote. Burr calls that 'truly sad' for the GOP.


The North Carolina Republican Party voted unanimously Monday night to censure Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) for his vote to convict former President Donald Trump of inciting a insurrection at his impeachment trial Saturday. The state GOP's emergency meeting, set up Sunday, was held over Zoom.
"We felt it was important for the party to make a statement that we disagree with the vote," said North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley. Whaley and other state Republicans argued that after Burr voted for a motion calling Trump's trial unconstitutional, he shouldn't have then voted to convict. Most of Burr's Senate GOP colleagues leaned on their process argument that the Senate had no jurisdiction to try a former president, but Burr said once the Senate had dismissed that argument, he had to convict. "The evidence is compelling that President Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection against a coequal branch of government and that the charge rises to the level of high Crimes and Misdemeanors," he said after his vote.
On Monday night, Burr called the state GOP's decision to censure him a "truly sad day" for North Carolina Republicans. "My party's leadership has chosen loyalty to one man over the core principles of the Republican Party and the founders of our great nation," he said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Burr, 65, has already announced he is not seeking a fourth term in the Senate after his term ends in 2022, and the public rebuke of a censure doesn't carry any real punishment related to his day job, The Charlotte Observer notes. "What message does this send at a time when the party is hemorrhaging voters?" said Doug Heye, a former Burr staffer and Republican National Committee spokesman.
Pointing to the nearly 6,000 North Carolinians who switched party affiliation from Republican after the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol, Heye said censuring Burr "isn't going to win back any of those voters" and just "sends a sign that party leadership is still showing fealty to the exiled king." At least three more of the Republicans who voted to convict Trump — Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) — also face censure votes back home.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Book reviews: 'The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World’s Most Coveted Microchip' and 'Who Is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service'
Feature The tech titan behind Nvidia's success and the secret stories of government workers
By The Week US
-
Mario Vargas Llosa: The novelist who lectured Latin America
Feature The Peruvian novelist wove tales of political corruption and moral compromise
By The Week US
-
How to see the Lyrid meteor shower
The explainer A nice time to look to the skies
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Israel blames 'failures' for killing of medics
speed read 14 Gaza medics and 1 U.N. employee were killed by IDF special forces
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
China accuses NSA of Winter Games cyberattacks
speed read China alleges that the U.S. National Security Agency launched cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games in February
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Russian strike kills dozens in Ukraine
Speed Read The Sumy ballistic missile strike was Russia's deadliest attack on civilians this year
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
South Korea court removes impeached president
Speed Read The Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol after his declaration of martial law in December
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Myanmar quake deaths rise as survivor search intensifies
speed read The magnitude-7.7 earthquake in central Myanmar has killed a documented 2,000 people so far, and left scores more trapped beneath rubble
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson