The Nebraska Republican Party Central Committee on Saturday reprimanded U-S Senator Ben Sasse, but stopped short of censuring him for his outspoken criticism of President Donald Trump.
Sasse was one of just seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump at his impeachment trial, and he has been openly critical of Trump and his insistence that he actually won the election.
A resolution approved by the Central Committee cited 13 grievances against Sasse, ranging from his failure “to take any meaningful action to repeal and replace Obamacare” to supporting Trump’s second impeachment to not responding to emails quickly enough.
The resolution expresses “deep disappointment and sadness” about Sasse’s approach to the job and urges him to represent “the people of Nebraska to Washington and not Washington to the people of Nebraska.”
Sasse made no attempts to change minds leading into or during the Central Committee meeting, telling Politico “there are a lot of really good people involved in party activism, but I don’t think they’re at all representative of regular Nebraskans.”
Sasse actually had Trump’s endorsement for his reelection bid in November and proudly points out he got a lot more votes than the president.
He also stands behind statements from early in office that he would always vote his conscience “even if it’s against the partisan stream,” and that he would “speak out when a president – even of my own party – exceeds his or her powers.”