The Republican National Committee has dismissed the deadly Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump as “ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse.”
The statement was part of a resolution by the RNC during their winter meeting in Salt Lake City to formally censure Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois for their participation on the House select committee investigating the attack. Cheney and Kinzering are the only two Republicans on the nine-person committee.
Utah’s Sen. Mitt Romney said the RNC’s decision brings shame to the Republican Party.
“Shame falls on a party that would censure persons of conscience, who seek truth in the face of vitriol,” Romney wrote on his personal Twitter account. “Honor attaches to Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for seeking truth even when doing so comes at great personal cost.”
When asked about the resolution, a spokesperson for the senator referred The Salt Lake Tribune to the tweet.
The rest of Utah’s all-Republican congressional delegation has been silent on the party’s decision to rebuke two of their own.
A spokesperson for Rep. Chris Stewart told The Tribune they had no comment on the censure or about the RNC’s statement on Jan. 6, while the rest of the delegation had not responded to emails or text messages.
Trump was later impeached for inciting an insurrection, a vote that Romney and six other Senate Republicans supported. Again, Romney was the lone Utahn to support the impeachment.
Tribune reporter Bryan Schott contributed to the reporting on this story.
Correction: Feb. 7, 11:15 a.m. • Rep. Adam Kinzinger is part of the Illinois congressional delegation.
