Trump becomes first POTUS to be impeached twice: Here are the 10 Republicans who voted in favor
The House had enough votes on Wednesday, January 13, to impeach President Trump for inciting a violent insurrection against the United States government. The House voted to impeach Trump for the second time -- making him the only U.S. president to ever be impeached twice. The resolution passed with 232 “Ayes”, 197 “Nays”, and four legislators abstaining from voting. Of the 232, ten names were those from the Republican party.
Republicans, led by Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the party’s third-ranking leader in the House, supported the charge of Trump “inciting violence against the government of the United States” and requested his immediate removal from office and disqualification from ever holding one again. This is a far cry from Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 when not a single Republican voted in favor. Who are the ten Republicans?
1. John Katko
Katko is an American attorney serving as the U.S. Representative for New York's 24th congressional district. He was the first Republican to publicly announce that he would back the impeachment proceedings. “To allow the president of the United States to incite this attack without consequence is a direct threat to the future of our democracy,” Katko said in a statement. “For that reason, I cannot sit by without taking action. I will vote to impeach this president.”
2. Elizabeth Cheney
Cheney is an American attorney serving as the U.S. Representative for Wyoming's at-large congressional district. She is the elder daughter of Lynne Cheney and former Vice President Dick Cheney. On January 12, Cheney announced that she would vote to impeach Trump. In a statement, she said, “The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not.” She said that there has never been a “greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution”.
3. Adam Kinzinger
Kinzinger, who serves as the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 16th congressional district, was one of the first GOP members to call out the insurrection attempt. On January 6, he called the violence at the Capitol a “coup attempt” on Twitter, following which, he quoted Trump and tweeted, “You are not protecting the country. Where is the DC guard? You are done and your legacy will be a disaster.” He said in a statement that if Trump’s actions “are not worthy of impeachment, then what is an impeachable offense?”
4. Fred Upton
Upton, who serves as the U.S. Representative for Michigan's 6th congressional district, issued a statement on January 12 that he would vote to impeach Trump after he “expressed no regrets” for what had happened at the Capitol. He said, “I would have preferred a bipartisan, formal censure rather than a drawn-out impeachment process. I fear this will now interfere with important legislative business and a new Biden Administration. But it is time to say: Enough is enough.”
5. Jaime Herrera Beutler
Beutler, who is the U.S. Representative for Washington's 3rd congressional district, said that she believed Trump “acted against his oath of office, so I will vote to impeach him.” She said that “The president’s offenses, in my reading of the Constitution, were impeachable based on the indisputable evidence we already have.”
6. Dan Newhouse
Newhouse, who is an agricultural scientist currently serving as the U.S. Representative for Washington's 4th congressional district, said on Tuesday on the House floor that the article of impeachment was flawed, but he would not use “process” as an excuse to vote no. He said, “There is no excuse for President Trump’s actions.” He said that when there was a “domestic threat at the door of the Capitol,” the president “did nothing to stop it.”
7. Peter Meijer
Meijer, a business analyst who represents Michigan's 3rd congressional district, said that Trump had “betrayed his oath of office by seeking to undermine our constitutional process, and he bears responsibility for inciting the insurrection we suffered last week.” He had announced that he would vote “aye” even if “with a heavy heart”.
8. Anthony Gonzalez
Gonzalez, a former professional football player who serves as the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 16th congressional district, announced in a statement prior to the vote that “The President of the United States helped organize and incite a mob” and that “In doing so, five people have died - including a Capitol Police Officer”. He said, “When I consider the full scope of events leading up to January 6 including the president’s lack of response as the United States Capitol was under attack, I am compelled to support impeachment.”
9. Tom Rice
Rice, the U.S. Representative for South Carolina's 7th congressional district, voted for Trump’s second impeachment. While he did not issue a statement, his political consultant Walter Whetsell told the press, “He truly believes you do the right thing and everything else will work out. He didn’t give it two seconds of political thought.”
10. David Valadao
Valadao, who is the U.S. Representative for California's 21st congressional district, was sworn into office on Tuesday, just one day before the vote to impeach Trump. In November 2020, Valadao defeated incumbent T.J. Cox. Valadao previously represented the 21st District for three terms.