SC Rep. Rice defends vote to impeach Trump despite GOP effort to censure him
South Carolina Congressman Tom Rice defended his vote to impeach former President Donald Trump earlier this month — one of 10 Republicans to side with Democrats — despite a push to censure him.
The congressman was criticized by Grand Strand residents about his unexpected vote during a virtual town hall Monday night. He fought back, citing the riot at the Capitol to explain his change of heart. Rice said he witnessed the riot first-hand while inside the building.
“The purpose of it was to intimidate members of Congress to vote the way the president wanted them to vote,” he told a man who asked how he would redeem himself after the vote. “If you want somebody who kowtows to bullies and forgets about the Constitution when it gets hard, I’m not your guy.”
Rice said he has received over 6,000 calls about his vote with about two-thirds of them against his decision.
The South Carolina GOP is pushing to censure the congressman for his decision. A vote to censure Rice would not have any formal consequences for the fifth-term congressman. The South Carolina GOP does not have a process to recall and replace members from elected office.
But the effort would signal a rebuke of his move to impeach Trump, which has already kicked off an effort to unseat him in 2022.
The Myrtle Beach area Republican, who was first elected in 2012, just won a fifth consecutive term in November to represent the 7th Congressional District.
About half the calls Monday night praised Rice for his “courage for voting his conscience” while the rest berated him and promised to halt their support.
“It wasn’t an easy thing to do,” Rice said. “I have more allegiance to our country and our constitution than I do to Donald Trump.”
Trump’s impeachment trial is expected to start soon, with members of Congress planning to formally bring their charges to the Senate Monday night.
“We can never let that happen again,” Rice told the town hall. “We almost lost our country that day.”
SC vaccine distribution
The first 20 minutes of the Town Hall was spent talking about the COVID-19 vaccine. Rice was joined by Dr. Brannon Traxler, interim director of Public Health for the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
The pair gave updates on the vaccine distribution rate in the state, which is one of the lowest in the country.
This story was originally published January 25, 2021 at 7:37 PM with the headline "SC Rep. Rice defends vote to impeach Trump despite GOP effort to censure him."
