During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union over the weekend, Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) condemned past rhetoric from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) as “madness.” In recent years, Greene has expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory, cast doubt on the reality of school shootings, repeatedly expressed apparent support for the execution of prominent Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and more. During recent remarks on the House floor, Greene distanced herself from past rhetoric, but bizarrely, she said that she was “allowed to believe” certain lies, as though she somehow doesn’t bear responsibility for her own thoughts and behavior.
In response to Greene’s conduct, the House voted to remove her from her committees in recent days. Toomey commented as follows:
‘There should be no place in the Republican Party for people who believe in insane conspiracy theories like QAnon. That is madness. That has nothing to do with conservatism. It has nothing to do with the Republican Party… The madness of the QAnons of this world, that’s not going to be a part of our Party and we’re going to be a big, strong, diverse party.’
Watch his comments below:
“There should be no place in the Republican Party for people who believe in insane conspiracy theories like QAnon… The madness of the QAnon's of this world, that’s not going to be a part of our Party and we’re going to be a… diverse party,” says GOP Sen. Pat Toomey. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/Htq0Cm9WZW
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) February 7, 2021
Meanwhile, Toomey, who previously insisted that he thought that Trump committed “impeachable offenses,” said that he still holds the same beliefs on this issue that he has expressed in the past. In coming days, the second Senate impeachment trial proceedings for Trump will begin after the Democrat-led House formally impeached Trump on a charge of incitement of insurrection following his incitement of a violent mob at the Capitol. Asked about the constitutionality of moving forward with a trial for an ex-president, Toomey added as follows:
‘I think it’s clearly constitutional to conduct a Senate trial with respect to an impeachment — in this case, the impeachment occurred prior to the president’s leaving office. My job is gonna be to listen to both sides of this, evaluate the arguments, and make a decision.’
Check out his comments below:
"I think it's clearly constitutional to conduct a Senate trial with respect to an impeachment," Republican Sen. Pat Toomey says on fmr. Pres. Trump's upcoming trial.
"In this case, the impeachment occurred prior to the President leaving office." #CNNSOTU https://t.co/SEHMh9LKBB pic.twitter.com/jrvuQQqpWP
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) February 7, 2021
Recently, Toomey is one of only five Republican Senators who voted to move forward with the trial when a resolution on the question came up for consideration. Thus, the 67 votes that are required for a conviction might be unlikely, since that number would require at least 17 Republicans voting for conviction.
