House votes to impeach Trump for second time – here's how the vote breaks down
Washington — The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to impeach President Trump on one count of incitement of insurrection, making him the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice. The vote came exactly one week after a mob of the president's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in an effort to block Congress from counting the Electoral College votes and confirming President-elect Joe Biden's victory.
How the vote breaks down
232 for impeachment
- 222 Democrats
- 10 Republicans
197 opposed
- 197 Republicans
- 0 Democrats
The 10 Republicans who voted for impeachment are:
- Liz Cheney of Wyoming
- Tom Rice of South Carolina
- John Katko of New York
- Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
- Peter Meijer of Michigan
- Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
- Dan Newhouse of Washington
- Fred Upton of Michigan
- Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington
- David Valadao of California
4 Republicans did not vote:
- Kay Granger of Texas
- Andy Harris of Maryland
- Greg Murphy of North Carolina
- Daniel Webster of Florida
Next steps in the impeachment process
Now that the House has voted for impeachment, it is up to the Senate to hold a trial. A two-thirds vote in the Senate would be required to convict Mr. Trump on the impeachment charges.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that the Senate cannot conclude an impeachment trial before Mr. Trump's term in office ends on January 20. But the trial could continue into Mr. Biden's term, and senators could vote to convict Mr. Trump even after he leaves office. If he is convicted, a majority of the Senate could also vote to bar him from holding federal office in the future.
The article of impeachment, introduced Monday by House Democrats, accuses Mr. Trump of "willfully inciting violence against the government of the United States" in violation of his constitutional oath and duty.
"President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United State and its institutions of government," the article states. "He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coordinate branch of government. He thereby betrayed his trust as president to the manifest injury of the people of the United States."
The vote is the culmination of swift efforts by the Democrat-led House to punish Mr. Trump for his role in inciting the violence at the Capitol, which led to the deaths of four protesters and one U.S. Capitol Police officer who was fatally injured the melee.
Laying out the arguments
In a speech on the House floor in support of impeachment, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Mr. Trump "must go."
"The president must be impeached, and, I believe, the president must be convicted by the Senate, a constitutional remedy that will ensure that the republic will be safe from this man who is so resolutely determined to tear down the things that we hold dear and that hold us together," she said. "Those insurrectionists were not patriots. They were not part of a political base to be catered to and managed. They were domestic terrorists, and justice must prevail."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other Republicans argued that impeachment would only worsen the nation's partisan divide. McCarthy suggested that the House pass a censure resolution instead and create a commission to investigate the events of last week. He said Mr. Trump was partially responsible for the violence, but that impeachment was not the right way to move forward.
"A vote to impeach would further divide this nation. A vote to impeach would further fan the flames of partisan division," said McCarthy, who voted to object to the Electoral College results last week. "The President bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding."
President Trump posted a video statement a short time after the House vote. He condemned the violent attack on the Capitol but made no reference to his own conduct or the impeachment process.
"I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week. Violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country and no place in our movement," he said. "Mob violence goes against everything I believe in and everything our movement stands for."
"We have seen too many riots, too many mobs, too many acts of intimidation and destruction. It must stop. Whether you are on the right or on the left, a Democrat or a Republican, there is never a justification for violence, no excuses, no exceptions."
Mr. Trump did comment briefly on the impeachment effort Tuesday, saying it was causing "tremendous danger" to the nation and "tremendous anger."
"The impeachment hoax is a continuation of the greatest and most vicious witch hunt in the history of our country, and it is causing tremendous anger and division and pain, far greater than most people will ever understand, which is very dangerous for the USA, especially at this very tender time," Mr. Trump said during a speech in Texas, where he was surveying the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The president also declined to take responsibility for the role his rhetoric played in spurring the violent attack on the Capitol.
"They've analyzed my speech and words and my final paragraph, my final sentence, and everybody, to the T, thought it was totally appropriate," he told reporters before leaving for Texas.
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