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WASHINGTON – Sen. Mitt Romney, the sole Republican who voted to convict President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial, was the only GOP senator not invited to serve on the president’s new panel to advise on reopening the country during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Of the 53 Senate Republicans, 52 now serve in the “Opening Up America Again Congressional Group,” which even includes a dozen Senate Democrats – but not Romney. 

The Utah senator, who was the Republican party’s nominee for president in 2012, has been a frequent critic of Trump and, in turn, has felt the sting of Trump’s attacks – which included the president calling him a “pompous a**” in a tweet. 

Romney also was not welcomed on a Thursday phone call in which the president spoke with senators of both parties about the coronavirus and the potential for reopening the country for business, according to a senior administration official. 

Asked about why Romney was left out, the official simply said, “he wasn’t invited.”

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The panel, which was rolled out Thursday, includes 65 senators and 32 House members. It aims to offer guidance and ideas for ways to safely reopen the economy once the coronavirus slows its spread across the country. On calls with members of the group Thursday, Trump heard questions about increased testing for COVID-19 and options for how the country could safely reopen without risking a resurgence in cases.