Maryland’s Republican governor is praising the seven GOP senators who voted to convict former President Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial.
“I’m proud of those folks that did take that decision and put the country ahead of the party,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday.
On Saturday, those votes were not enough to convict Trump on the impeachment charge against him that stems from the deadly Jan 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Hogan was asked about the actions of those Republican lawmakers in relation to a decision his late father, former Rep. Lawrence Hogan made in 1974.
Hogan’s father was the only Republican congressman to vote for all three articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon.
“It’s really hard to go against your base and your colleagues to do what you think is right for the country. That’s exactly what my dad did back in the 70s, and he paid a price for it immediately but it’s what history remembers him most fondly for,” Hogan said on NBC’s Meet the Press.
The governor said that after watching the impeachment trial, if were a senator, he would have voted to convict Trump based on the case laid out by House impeachment managers.
“Frankly, I believe the Democrats made a strong case,” Hogan said.
Attorneys for Trump argued that their client did not incite the Jan. 6 riot and that the case against him, as laid out by Democrats, was driven by “hatred” toward the former president.
Hogan said it’s clear that even some Republicans who voted to acquit the former president are outraged by Trump’s actions leading up to the storming of the U.S. Capitol by people loyal to him.
“A lot of Republicans are outraged, but they don’t have the courage to stand up and vote that way because, you know, they’re afraid of being primaried or they’re going to lose their careers,” Hogan said on CNN.
The governor said he doesn’t believe the story ends here and that Trump faces possible criminal court cases, plus the court of public opinion.
“This is not over and we’re going to decide over the next couple of years what the fate of Donald Trump and the Republican Party is,” Hogan said on CNN.
Hogan said he believes the GOP saw a “hostile takeover” in recent years and now the fight for the soul of the party is underway.
“I think some of us are going to stand up and try to fight for the party that we believe in, that we’ve been a part of for so long and, you know, there’s going to be folks that want to continue to head down this road of Donald Trump,” Hogan said.
