- Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told Fox News Radio's "Brian Kilmeade Show" that he doesn't think he will be judged by God for voting to acquit President Donald Trump.
- "When I go to meet God at the pearly gates, I don't think he's going to ask me, 'Why didn't you convict Trump?' I may be wrong, but I don't think that's going to be at the top of the list," he said.
- Voting to acquit Trump of impeachment charges was the "easiest decision I've ever had to make," Graham said.
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Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says he doesn't think God will judge him for voting to acquit President Donald Trump when he dies.
Graham called in to Fox News Radio's "Brian Kilmeade Show" to discuss the Senate vote that acquitted Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in his Impeachment trial, and also discussed Sen. Mitt Romney's decision to break from the Republican Party to vote that Trump was guilty.
The Senator from South Carolina said voting to acquit Trump was the "easiest decision I've ever had to make."
"All I can tell you is that God gave us free will and common sense. I used the common sense God gave me to understand this was a bunch of BS," he said. "[Democrats] hate Trump, they were going to impeach him the day he got elected and if you can't see through this, your religion is clouding your thinking here."
Romney, who has faced backlash from the the GOP over his impeachment vote, referenced God in his decision to vote the president guilty on one count.
"I am a profoundly religious person. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the president, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced," he said.
Graham criticized Romney's statement and his comment that an "oath before God" led him to his decision.
"When I go to meet God at the pearly gates, I don't think he's going to ask me, 'Why didn't you convict Trump?' I may be wrong, but I don't think that's going to be at the top of the list," Graham said.
Republicans have long used God and religion as a justification for their decisions. Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry said last year that Trump was God's "Chosen one" to lead the United States, while Sen. Ted Cruz regularly references God in his political decisions.
Trump also directly addressed the issue of faith during a rambling post-impeachment acquittal speech on Thursday. In it, he said of Romney and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
"I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong, nor do I like people who say, 'I pray for you' when they know that that's not so."
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