Ben Sasse Accuses Nebraska GOP Members Trying to Censure Him For Trump Criticism of Being ‘Angry About Life’

Sen. Ben Sasse attacked Nebraska GOP State Central members in a video after they threatened to censure him for his criticism of former President Trump following the Jan. 6 siege on the Capitol.

In the video, Sasse claimed that he “listens to Nebraskans every day and that very few of them are as angry about life as some of the people” on the committee.

Sasse’s response is a video directly addressed to members of the Nebraska GOP State Central Committee: https://t.co/bkZcyhJaBn

— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) February 4, 2021

Sarpy County Republicans, the most populous GOP-leaning county, voted 2-1 on Thursday to join Republicans from Scotts Bluff and Hitchcock Counties in expressing displeasure with Sasse over his critiques of Trump.

One of the resolutions finds that Sasse “warrants and shall incur the penalty of CENSURE” and with more to likely follow in the coming days, the state party would likely condense the various county censures into one resolution ahead of a Feb. 13 meeting.

The Omaha World-Herald reported:

Papillion resident Robert Anthony attended the Sarpy meeting via Zoom and voted for censure. He said he’s tired of the disconnect between the beliefs of “liberty-loving” Republicans, and some who make it to Washington, D.C.

He and other Republicans said they were upset at Sasse for what they saw as Sasse’s opportunistic support for the Republican president during Sasse’s GOP primary, followed by the senator’s renewed criticisms of Trump after he defeated primary opponent Matt Innis, a staunch Trump supporter.

“Sasse says he’s just here to defend the Constitution, but Sarpy Republicans feel like people are trampling on the Constitution all the time,” Anthony said.

Gov. Pete Ricketts, during his coronavirus press briefing on Friday, said he has heard frustrations from a lot of Nebraska Republicans and urged them to reach out to Sasse and his office. But he defended Sasse’s voting record as one of the most conservative in the Senate.

In the video, Sasse also told the committee, “You are welcome to censure me again, 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.”

According to Fox News, the Nebraska GOP said that they sent Sasse a letter inviting him next weekend’s meeting to make his case, but that he replied that he would not be able to attend and then released his video.

An anonymous Republican strategist in Nebraska reportedly told Fox News that “the video speaks for itself,” and that the video’s “sort of a harsh response in my perspective and seems like it’s intended to inflame rather than to unify or moderate tensions.”