Trump turmoil: Congressional GOP critics of former president creating disarray with local parties

According to a report from Punchbowl News, four years of Donald Trump as president -- and his two impeachments -- has created a rift between Republicans in Congress who have criticized the former president and the state parties that helped send them to Washington, D.C.

Beyond the high-profile wars between Trump and Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Liz Cheney (R-WY) are squabbles between a handful of other lawmakers that have led to censures or votes of condemnation by either their respective state party or local Republican groups.

As Punchbowl reports, five percent of sitting members of the Senate have been censured at home, with only Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's censure being unrelated to Trump's impeachment.

According to the report, "It’s become commonplace in the 117th Congress for lawmakers to be formally rebuked by their state, local or county parties," adding, "The vast majorityof the censured lawmakers are Republicans, of course. These Republicans voted for the impeachment or conviction of former PresidentDonald Trump following the Jan. 6 insurrection by Trump supporters."

"In the Senate alone, Sinema joins Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) in the 'censured by their state party' column after they voted to convict Trump last year following his Senate trial. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) avoided that title, although they were criticized back home," Punchbowl reports.

GOP members of the Senate are not the only ones in Congress who are battling with the folks back home who once championed their campaigns --which could have an impact on the midterm election.

According to the report, "On the House side, GOP Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Tom Rice (S.C.) were censured by their state parties (and some county party organizations) following their votes for Trump’s impeachment. Cheney, of course, was later forced out of the House GOP leadership when she kept bashing Trump. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) was censured by several county parties but not the Illinois GOP

In Michigan, the state Republican Party didn’t censure Reps. Fred Upton and Peter Meijer, but several county GOP parties did. Upton has actually been censured more than once by the Cass County GOP," adding that Washington state GOP lawmakers Dan Newhouse and Jaime Herrera Beutler were both "condemned" by the state part with calls for Newhouse to resign.

The report notes that Ohio GOP went even further by censuring home-state Rep. Anthony Gonzalez -- who has chosen to not run for re-election -- along with the nine other GOP House members from other states who voted for Trump's impeachment.

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