últimas notícias

• Republican Sen. Ben Sasse slammed his state party amid its plans to censure him.
• The Nebraska GOP is mulling this move over Sasse’s criticism of Trump’s role in the Capitol riot.
• “Politics isn’t about the weird worship of one dude,” Sasse said in a video.
• Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.

Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska seemed unfazed that his state party may censure him after he accused former President Donald Trump of inciting the deadly Capitol riot on January 6. 

In a five-minute video directed at the Nebraska GOP State Central Committee, Sasse blasted its members as being “angry about life.”

“Many of you are hacked off that I condemned his lies that led to a riot,” Sasse said Thursday evening. “Let’s be clear: the anger in the state party has never been about me violating principle or abandoning conservative policy.”

“The anger has always been simply about me not bending the knee to one guy,” he added, referring to Trump.

Sasse has been a frequent and vocal critic of Trump throughout his tenure. He slammed the former president last month after a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol complex, which led to five deaths. In the aftermath, the two-term senator said Trump “was the one pouring gasoline on these fires of division” with his baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and subject to voter fraud.

Sasse added that fellow Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who led the challenge to the 2020 election results in the Senate, is also to blame for the deadly riot. Sasse was one of only five Republican senators who rejected GOP Sen. Rand Paul’s motion last month to dismiss Trump’s upcoming impeachment trial as unconstitutional. 

Now, the Nebraska GOP may move to censure Sasse over his criticism of Trump and his Republican colleagues.   Censure refers to a formal condemnation of an elected official. The committee members have drafted a resolution with a possible vote on February 13, according to News Channel Nebraska. 

“You are welcome to censure me,” Sasse said in the video. “But let’s be clear about why this is happening. It’s because I still believe, as you used to, that politics isn’t about the weird worship of one dude.”

Sasse first took office in 2015 and handily won his reelection campaign in 2020 with more than 67% of the vote. Trump also won the state, but his margin was lower, coming in at 58%. 

Sasse said the reason he had more support in his home state than the former president was because “Nebraskans aren’t rage addicts.”

“Personality cults aren’t conservative. Conspiracy theories aren’t conservative. Lying that election has been stolen — it’s not conservative,” Sasse said.