Many Republicans were incensed by Senator Mitt Romney’s (R-UT) decision to vote to convict President Donald Trump on the first article of impeachment Wednesday, but he has found some predictable allies, chiefly one Ben Shapiro of the Daily Wire.

Shapiro is a longtime critic of President Trump, both personally and politically, and stands in alignment with many of the neoliberal policies championed by Romney, so his defense of the embattled Utah senator is hardly surprising.

Shapiro countersignaled Romney critics on Twitter throughout the week.

What would be dumb would be to keep the "PURE GOP!" vs. "CORRUPT GOP!" fight going to no actual benefit. — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 5, 2020

Romney is a Senator elected by the people of his state; his independent judgment is as legitimate as that of anyone else. Even though Trump's Ukraine behavior was thoroughly bad and stupid, Romney is wrong about impeachment. But that's about it. He is not a traitor or a buffoon. — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 5, 2020

Shapiro has a long history history of a possible Romney appointment to President Trump’s cabinet.

Now Trump looks tough if he picks Romney. Would actually be really smart politics. But that's assuming a lot. https://t.co/OREXRATAUB — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 27, 2016

If Trump does go with Romney, it's a brilliant political move. Counters arguments over pettiness and shows interest in steadiness in staff. — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 30, 2016

In fact, the only person Shapiro thought would be a preferable alternative to Romney is disgraced former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who supported impeachment and has a long track record of enacting the chickenhawk policies beloved by Shapiro.

On policy, I do prefer Bolton to Romney; Bolton also has the experience necessary to dismantle the corruption at State. — Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 30, 2016

Shapiro wrote an op-ed in 2019 assailing “conspiracy theories” related to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Last week, National File’s Patrick Howley published an expose detailing, among other things, how Robert Maxwell invested almost $3 million into Romney’s fledgling Bain Capital, enabling Romney to kickstart a career in finance.