House Democrats impeached Trump again. This time 10 Republicans joined them.
President Donald Trump became the first president in the country’s history to be impeached twice. And this time, members of his own party broke ranks to rebuke him.
Ten Republicans joined 222 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday to vote in favor of an article of impeachment charging Trump with “incitement of insurrection” following last week’s Capitol riot that left five people dead. It was the most bipartisan impeachment effort ever in the United States, and a sign that Trump’s grip on the GOP may be loosening as he enters his final week in office.
Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the No. 3 House Republican, was the highest-ranking member of the party and only member of House GOP leadership to vote to impeach Trump.
She was joined by Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, John Katko of New York, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Peter Meijer of Michigan, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Fred Upton of Michigan, Tom Rice of South Carolina and David Valadao of California.
“I’m not afraid of losing my job, but I am afraid my country will fail,” said Herrera Beutler. “My vote to impeach our sitting president is not a fear-based decision. I am not choosing a side. I am choosing truth. It’s the only way to defeat fear.”
No House Republicans voted in favor of impeaching Trump in December 2019, when he faced charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Then-Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, a Republican-turned-Libertarian, was the only House member who was not a Democrat to support the articles of impeachment that time.
When President Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998, five of his fellow Democrats in the House voted in favor. And no Democrats voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson in 1868.
Of the ten Republicans who supported Trump’s impeachment Wednesday, just two represent districts President-elect Joe Biden carried in the 2020 election: Katko and Valadao. Herrera Beutler, Meijer and Upton represent districts Trump carried by single digits last November, while Cheney, Gonzalez, Kinzinger, Newhouse and Rice represent districts that Trump won by double digits.
“These articles of impeachment are flawed, but I will not use process as an excuse,” said Newhouse, who is beginning his fourth term. “There is no excuse for President Trump’s actions.”
Four House Republicans did not vote on Trump’s impeachment: Kay Granger of Texas, Andy Harris of Maryland, Greg Murphy of North Carolina and Daniel Webster of Florida.
Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, did not make any remarks on the House floor. But Democrats repeatedly cited her strongly-worded statement from a day earlier announcing her impeachment vote throughout the afternoon debate.
“Are we to remain silent in the face of Liz Cheney saying this was the greatest betrayal of the duty of the president in history?” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland.
Cheney quickly faced backlash from her GOP colleagues, several of whom called on her to resign as chair of the House Republican Conference.
The vast majority of the GOP voted against impeaching Trump, and most steered clear of criticizing him during the House floor debate.
“They want to cancel the president,” said Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a co-founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. “It’s always been about getting the president, no matter what.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California said that Trump “bears responsibility” for last week’s mob attack at the Capitol, but that impeaching him in a short timeframe would only further divide the nation.
“I understand for some this call for unity may be hollow,” McCarthy said. “Unity is not an option, it’s a necessity.”
Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, who previously served as Sen. Ted Cruz’s chief of staff, said he believed Trump committed impeachable conduct for pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to reject the results of the Electoral College. But he called the Democrats’ impeachment article “flawed and unsupportable” for focusing on inciting insurrection.
As the House was debating impeachment, Trump released a statement urging calm.
“In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind,” the statement said. “That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for. I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers.”
The article of impeachment will next go to the Senate for a trial to decide whether to convict the president. It was not immediately clear when that process would begin.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said in a letter to his Republican colleagues Wednesday afternoon that he will not reconvene the Senate early, before Jan. 19. That is the day before Biden’s inauguration, which would mean a Senate trial would extend into Biden’s term. McConnell added that he hasn’t decided how he will vote.
If every Senate Democrat voted in favor at the impeachment trial, 17 Republicans would need to join them to convict Trump. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah was the lone Senate Republican to vote to convict Trump during the last impeachment trial.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 5:34 PM with the headline "House Democrats impeached Trump again. This time 10 Republicans joined them.."
