The Louisiana GOP issued a rebuke of Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy over his vote Tuesday that the impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump is constitutional.
“The Republican Party of Louisiana is profoundly disappointed by Senator Bill Cassidy’s vote on the constitutionality of the impeachment trial now underway against former President, now private citizen, Donald J. Trump,” the party said in a statement Tuesday after the vote.
“We feel that an impeachment trial of a private citizen is not only an unconstitutional act, but also an attack on the very foundation of American democracy, which will have far reaching and unforeseen consequences for our republic,” the statement read.
OFFICIAL: LAGOP Statement Regarding Senator Cassidy’s Vote https://t.co/Kw1biIjLTL
— Republican Party of Louisiana (@LAGOP) February 9, 2021
The rebuke comes after the Senate concluded its first day of Trump’s impeachment trial. The House previously voted to impeach the former president in January on a count of inciting insurrection ahead of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Cassidy joined five other Republican senators to vote that the impeachment trial is constitutional. The motion to proceed with the trial passed the chamber in a 56-44 vote after several hours of arguments from both sides.
The senior senator from Louisiana was the only lawmaker to switch his vote after previously joining Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a majority of Republicans in January to vote in favor of Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s motion to dismiss the trial. (RELATED: Schumer Says Impeachment Trial Will Move Quickly, Won’t Need A Lot Of Witnesses)
Cassidy told CNN’s senior congressional producer Ted Barrett after the vote that the House impeachment managers had a “very good opening” and made “very good arguments.” He also slammed Trump’s impeachment lawyers and called the legal defense team “disorganized.”
Wow Cassidy absolutely goes off on Trump legal team
“The House managers were focused, they were organized … they made a compelling argument. President Trump’s team, they were disorganized, they did everything they could but to talk about the question at hand”
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) February 9, 2021
Cassidy is the latest lawmaker to face pushback from a state GOP during the impeachment proceedings. Republican Wyoming Liz Cheney was censured by the Wyoming GOP for her vote to impeach Trump and Republican Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger was censured by a county GOP in his district.
The Louisiana GOP also said in Tuesday’s statement that Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy “made the right decision” by voting the trial was unconstitutional and praised the junior senator for “remaining steadfast in his opposition.”
