A Look at How North Carolina’s Senators are Treating Impeachment

Sen. Richard Burr (left) and Sen. Thom Tillis (right) will be closely watched during the presidential trial, but for different reasons (Source)

With the Senate trial underway, North Carolinians look to see where Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr stand on impeachment. The two senators, both Republicans, are expected to ultimately vote against removing the president from office, but their approaches and attitudes toward the trial have differed thus far.

Tillis was an early opponent of impeaching Trump. Even before the House passed articles of impeachment, Tillis described the process as “flawed” and “unfair,” and labeled himself “a definite no” vote if the impeachment were to reach the Senate. 

Last week, Tillis tweeted, “This sham #impeachment is a waste of America’s time and the people of North Carolina are getting tired of it.”

Tillis’ outspoken and vehement opposition to the impeachment may be partially due to him being up for re-election this year. He must hold on to the Republican base that won Trump the state of North Carolina in 2016. Anything less than total support for the president could jeopardize his political future.

Senator Burr, on the other hand, has not made public statements or taken a stance on the impeachment process. Speaking at Wake Forest University back in November, Burr discussed the “extremely high” threshold of evidence needed to remove a president from office but did not offer any personal opinions on the coming impeachment process.

Because he is not seeking re-election in 2022, Burr does not face the same electoral pressures as Tillis. As a result, he does not need to show great loyalty to the president and may approach the remainder of the trial with an open mind. 

In fact, we saw Burr take this approach last year when he used his position as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee to issue a subpoena to Donald Trump Jr. during the investigation into Russian election interference. Well aware that the move would generate criticism from voters and his party, Burr acted independently against the president’s wishes. 

Burr’s loyalty will be put to the test in the coming days after the news broke that former national security advisor John Bolton claims in his upcoming book that the president wanted to hold up military aid to Ukraine until the country launched an investigation into Biden. Senators Romney, Collins, Murkowski and Alexander are considered to be the Republicans most likely to support hearing witnesses. We will see if Burr decides to join them or to instead vote with the rest of his party. 

Although the absence of electoral pressure enables Burr to act more independently than Tillis, both senators are subject to other internal pressures from organizations and leaders within the state of North Carolina. Conservative organizations like the North Carolina GOP and Republican House members from the state are certainly against impeachment and are pushing for no votes from both senators, while liberals are calling for a fair trial. 

While the outcome of the trial remains to be seen, we can expect that both Tillis and Burr will eventually vote for acquittal. Both men have proven conservative records as elected officials and are unlikely to stray from partisan lines in such a high stakes moment. Nevertheless, it will surely be interesting to see how they differ in their approach to the remainder of the trial.