Ten Republicans Joined Democrats In Impeaching Trump A Historic Second Time A Move That Was Quickly Met With Condemnation Back In Their Home States Theyve Been Publicly Scolded Pushed To Resign And Warned That Local Organizations Will Mount A Strong Push To Oust Them From Office In The Primary
“After my last election, I had decided not to run again. But the vote by Congressman Valadao to impeach President Trump with no witnesses, evidence, or without allowing any defense was too much for me to stay on the sidelines,” Chris Mathys, a former Fresno, California, city council member, told Newsweek.
Valadao, who represents California’s 21st district, wasn’t in office during Trump’s first impeachment, as he had been ousted from office in 2018 by Democrat TJ Coxx. In November, Valadao won back his seat from the Democrat who beat him in 2018 by less than a point. The Republican placed blame on Trump for the Capitol riot, saying that his rhetoric was “un-American, abhorrent and absolutely an impeachable offense.”
That vote in favor of impeaching Trump “violated the trust” of the millions of Americans that voted for Trump in the November election, according to Mathys, who unsuccessfully sought a seat in New Mexico’s House during the 2020 primary. The decision was “so egregious,” that Mathys doesn’t think voters will forget it.
Whit Ayer, a GOP strategist, told Newsweek it was a “very gutsy” decision to vote in favor of impeachment because they “knew they would likely draw challenges.” However, it remains to be seen how much the impeachment will play in the 2022 primary and one of the factors that is still up in the air is how much of a political powerhouse Trump will be in 18 months.
While The Majority Of Republican Senators Sided With Trump And Backed His Acquittal Seven Republican Senators Joined The Democrats And Voted To Convict The Republican Former President On The Single Charge
Donald Trump was acquitted in his impeachment trialon Saturday on a charge of inciting insurrection in a Jan. 6 speech to supporters just before hundreds of them stormed the US Capitol.
While the majority of Republican senators sided with Trumpand backed his acquittal, seven Republican senators joined the Democrats and voted to convict the Republican former president on the single charge. One of them, Richard Burr, had previously voted that the proceeding was unconstitutional because Trump left office on Jan. 20, a motion rejected by the Senate.
RICHARD BURR
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Burr said while running for office in 2016 that he would not seek re-election in 2022. The senator from North Carolina had already been unpopular with Trump’s allies for his work heading the Senate Intelligence Committee, which had probed Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Trump had opposed the investigation.
BILL CASSIDY
The senator from Louisiana on Tuesday joined five Republican colleagues in voting that the proceeding was constitutional, reversing his stance from an earlier vote on the issue. Cassidy told reporters after the House impeachment managers presented on Tuesday that they had “a very good opening.”
BEN SASSE
PAT TOOMEY
SUSAN COLLINS
The Maine centrist was the only Republican senator re-elected in 2020 in a state also won by Biden. She said Trump had incited the Jan. 6 riot.
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Mcconnell Says House Prosecutors Proved Trump Incited Attack On Capitol Though He Voted To Acquit Because Trump Is No Longer In Office
9:10 AM on Feb 13, 2021 CST — Updated at 5:12 PM on Feb 13, 2021 CST
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment trial ended Saturday with acquittal on a 57-43 vote, with seven Republicans and all Democrats voting that the former president incited insurrection.
Though 10 votes shy of the two-thirds needed, it was the most bipartisan vote for conviction in any of the four presidential trials in U.S. history and, by far, the shortest.
Democrats insisted the trial would leave an indelible mark on Trump’s legacy. The 45th president is the only U.S. president impeached and acquitted twice.
“He has been discredited in the eyes of the American people and in the judgment of history,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat.
Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz voted for acquittal.
The Republicans who voted to convict were Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
One year and one week ago, at Trump’s first trial, Romney had been the only Republican voting to convict and remove him from office on a charge of abuse of power.
“President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it,” McConnell said, accusing Trump of peddling a “wild myth” that he had won the election and engaging in “unconscionable” behavior before and during the Jan. 6 attack.
Congresswoman Backs Claim That Trump Told Mccarthy Well I Guess These People Are More Upset About The Election Than You Are
Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler issued a statement late Friday backing reports that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had reached President Trump by phone on January 6.
According to Herrera Beutler, McCarthy told her that when he spoke to Mr. Trump that day and asked him to “publicly and forcefully” call off the Capitol assault, “the president initially repeated the falsehood that it was antifa that had breached the Capitol.”
“McCarthy refuted that and told the president that these were Trump supporters,” Beutler’s statement said. “That’s when, according to McCarthy, the president said: ‘Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.'”
Herrera Beutler, a Republican from Washington, was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump. She referenced the call in her statement of support of impeachment.
A Majority Vote In The House Is Needed To Impeach Trump But 20 Republican Senators Will Need To Join A Vote To Remove Him
GettyTrump at the Social Media Summit
Impeachment proceedings are more complicated than they might sound. If you recall, in former President Bill Clinton’s administration, there were enough votes to impeach him but there were not enough votes to convict and remove him. This could happen again with President Donald Trump. You can read all the laws on impeachment proceedings here.
A simple majority vote is needed in the House to impeach Trump. This might not be difficult since the Democrats have a majority in the House.
If all 435 House members vote, they would need 218 votes for a majority to be reached and for Trump to be impeached. There are 235 Democrats in office in the House, one Independent, and 199 Republicans, Reuters explained.
So getting a majority of Democrats wouldn’t be difficult, since a majority of House Democrats already supported impeachment earlier this year. But even with an impeachment vote, Trump would still not be removed from office.
With a majority vote in the House, articles of impeachment would be approved that lay out all the impeachable offenses. Treason and bribery qualify as crimes warranting impeachment, as do “other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
But this is not all that is needed to remove a sitting President. They would then need 2/3 majority of the Senate’s 100 members to vote to for the President to be removed from office. That means a total of 67 Senators would need to vote to convict and remove the President.
Most Republicans Who Voted To Convict Aren’t Up For Reelection Until At Least 2024 Or Aren’t Running For Reelection
Most of the Republicans who voted to convict Mr. Trump are not up for reelection until at least 2024, or are not running for reelection.
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is the only Republican who voted to convict Mr. Trump who is also up for reelection in 2022.
Senator Richard Burr isn’t running for reelection. Senator Bill Cassidy isn’t up for reelection until 2026. Susan Collins is up for reelection in 2026. Mitt Romney isn’t up for reelection until 2024. Ben Sasse isn’t up for reelection until 2026. Senator Pat Toomey isn’t running for reelection.
While Most Republicans Are Likely To Vote To Acquit The Former President A Handful Of Votes Appear To Be In Play
Former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial on a charge of inciting the riot at the Capitol Jan. 6 begins with the battle lines clearly drawn. The partisan math makes it unlikely there will be the 67 votes necessary for a conviction. But at least a handful of Republican senators do appear to be in play to join what will likely be all the Democrats in voting to convict.
Forty-four of the Senate’s 50 Republicans voted Tuesday that the trial was unconstitutional because Mr. Trump has left office. Most legal experts disagree with that argument, but it was embraced by both the Trump defense team and even senators who believe he bears some responsibility for the riot, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Here are the most important Republican senators to watch during the second Trump impeachment trial.
Sen. Mitt Romney
Sen. Susan Collins
Ms. Collins has long held Trump at arm’s-length, especially when running successfully for a fifth term last year. Ms. Collins frequently falls back on a refrain that as a juror she can’t comment on impeachment proceedings until she gets to hear from the prosecution and the defense, but she has sharply criticized Trump’s conduct. “He incited them in the first place” and later failed to quell the violence by his supporters “by repeating his grievances and telling the rioters that he knew how they felt,” she wrote in a first-person account of Jan. 6 for the Bangor Daily News.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski
The 7 Republican Senators Who Voted To Convict Former President Donald Trump Explain Their Rationale
Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial came to an end Saturday with 57 senators voting to convict, falling short of the two-thirds margin required to find him guilty of the charge of “incitement of insurrection” in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol that resulted in five deaths. Seven GOP senators broke with their party — voting along with all 48 Democrats and both independents in the body.
After the 57-43 vote, the Republicans who defied Trump explained their decision.
Richard Burr, North Carolina
“The facts are clear,” Burr said in a statement after the vote. “The President promoted unfounded conspiracy theories to cast doubt on the integrity of a free and fair election because he did not like the results. As Congress met to certify the election results, the President directed his supporters to go to the Capitol to disrupt the lawful proceedings required by the Constitution. When the crowd became violent, the President used his office to first inflame the situation instead of immediately calling for an end to the assault.”
Burr originally voted that the trial was unconstitutional, but said in his statement that “the Senate is an institution based on precedent, and given that the majority of the Senate voted to proceed with this trial, the question of constitutionality is now established precedent.”
He has already announced he will not be running for reelection in 2022.
Bill Cassidy, Louisiana
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska
Mitt Romney, Utah
Liz Cheney John Katko And Dan Newhouse Among 10 House Republicans Who Voted In Favour Of Motion
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump a second time on Wednesday. The House voted 232-197 in favour of an unprecedented second impeachment just one week after the violence at the U.S. Capitol.
Those 232 votes were cast in favour of the bill by 222 Democrats — along with 10 Republicans, members of Trump’s own party.
The Republicans include:
The Seven Republican Senators Who Voted To Impeach Trump Say It Was Their Constitutional Duty
On Feb. 13, 2021, seven Republican senators voted to convict former president Donald Trump for his involvement in the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021. but 17 were needed to find Trump guilty to meet the two-thirds majority rule.
All seven Republicans that crossed party lines to vote alongside the Democrats faced criticism from voters and other factions within the party, according to CNBC—but who are they and how will the decision affect them?
Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina
Senator Burr first began his Congressional career in 2004 when he won North Carolina’s Republican Primary. He has now served in the Senate for nearly two decades but is facing censorship from the GOP as a result of his defiant stance in the impeachment trials.
Censorship is a formal statement of disapproval from the state’s party, therefore it has no direct repercussions such as removal from office but it can have lasting effects on the senator’s reputation, thus affecting his or her chances of being reelected. Senator Burr, however, will not be running next year, though there are no reports of the censorship having any influence on this decision.
In his trial statement, Senator Burr asserted Trump was responsible for the events that took place at the Capitol, stating, “The evidence is compelling that President Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection against a coequal branch of government…”
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Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
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Senator Susan Collins of Maine
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Sure Parties Dump Their Prime Ministers But They Rarely Throw Out Their Presidents Heres Why
The House may well vote to impeach President Trump. What remains uncertain is whether the Senate will remove him. Senate Republicans hold 53 seats, and removal requires two-thirds of senators voting, or 67 votes to convict if all 100 senators vote.
If all 45 Democrats and the two independents vote to convict, 20 Republicans would have to switch sides to vote against the president. Is that possible?
The Senate has conducted only two presidential impeachment trials in its history, giving us not much to go on. But impeachment attempts around the world can teach us a lot about what’s likely to happen here.
Republicans Voted To Impeach Trump 7 Already Facing Challenges For Their Seats In Congress
The RINO Republicans who betrayed President Trump and his voters must have no place in the Republican Party. They must all be primaried and replaced with strong pr0-Trump candidates for the 2022 midterm elections. Don’t start a new party and split our vote. Primary the fake Republicans.
Related –Lewandowski creates new PAC to back Republican supporters of pro-Trump agenda
Trump Senate Republicans No Chief Justice: What To Watch For During The Impeachment Trial
WASHINGTON — The impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump begins this week, returning the recently departed leader to the limelight.
As in his first impeachment trial a year ago, it will be difficult for Democrats to muster the two-thirds Senate majority required to convict him. But the trial is still expected to absorb the nation’s attention.
The case rests on a single charge approved by the Democratic-led House, with the support of 10 Republicans: that Trump incited the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Even though Trump was defeated for re-election last year, the stakes of the trial are high for the country and for a Republican Party that is tethered to him as long as he remains popular among its core voters and has the option to run for president again.
As of Sunday evening, the structure of the trial and possible witnesses hadn’t yet been announced.
Here are five things to watch for when it begins:
Who Are The 7 Republican Senators That Voted To Convict Trump In Second Impeachment Trial
WASHINGTON — Seven Republicans voted Saturday to convict former President Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial, easily the largest number of lawmakers to ever vote to find a president of their own party guilty at impeachment proceedings.
While lawmakers voted 57-43 to find Trump guilty, the evenly divided Senate fell well short of the two-thirds majority required to convict an impeached president, acquitting Trump of inciting an insurrection for riling up a crowd of his supporters before they attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Voting to find Trump guilty were GOP Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania.
Susan Collins
The Maine centrist was the only Republican senator re-elected in 2020 in a state also won by Biden. She said Trump had incited the Jan. 6 riot.
“President Trump — subordinating the interests of the country to his own selfish interests — bears significant responsibility for the invasion of the Capitol,” Collins said on the Senate floor shortly after Former President Donald Trump’s acquittal.
LISA MURKOWSKI
The Trump legal team responded to Cassidy’s question by saying, “Directly no, but I dispute the premise of your facts.”
RICHARD BURR
BEN SASSE
Of The 10 Republicans Who Voted To Impeach Trump 7 Are Already Facing Primary Challenges
Seven out of the 10 Republican lawmakers who voted in favor of impeaching former President Donald Trump are already facing primary challenges for their congressional seats.
Newsweek indicates that the pro-impeachment GOPers have “been publicly scolded, pushed to resign and warned that local organizations will mount a strong push to oust them from office in the primary.”
The report profiles primary challenges already forming for Reps. David Valadao , Liz Cheney , Adam Kinzinger , Dan Newhouse , and Anthony Gonzalez .
They add, “Another Republican has created an exploratory committee in a potential bid for Representative Tom Rice’s seat and local GOP organizations have vowed to recruit someone to go after Representative Jamie Herrera Buetler’s spot in Congress.”
10 Republicans voted to impeach Trump, 7 already facing challenges for their seats in Congress https://t.co/QCnmJA06dl
NewsTrump impeachmentRepublicansLisa MurkowskiSusan Collins
Seven Republican senators voted alongside 50 members of the Democratic caucus to convict former President Donald Trump on Saturday.
The final tally of 57-43 fell short of the 67 votes needed to convict Trump on the House impeachment charge of inciting the January 6 insurrection against the U.S. Capitol. However, the count total has been touted as the most bipartisan impeachment vote in U.S. history. Trump’s acquittal marks the end of a five-day impeachment trial.
Here’s how they explained their decisions this weekend.
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Schiff Says He Hopes Vote To Consider Witnesses Will Inspire Republicans To Come Forward
Congressman Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California who was the lead impeachment manager during the first impeachment proceedings involving Mr. Trump, said he hopes more Republicans who have information about the former president’s conduct on January 6 come forward and make themselves available to testify.
In an interview with CBS News, Schiff recalled a similar occurrence in last year’s proceeding, where a witness came forward after watching the hearings in the House to provide relevant information.
“That could very well happen here,” he said.
The California Democrat said calling new witnesses “opens the door for discovery of new information.”
Schiff also said Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, who the House managers said they want to subpoena, would be a “low-risk” witness for the Democrats, but warned House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy could present more challenges.
Schiff cited McCarthy’s recent trip to Florida, during which he met with Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago and discussed Republicans regaining the House majority in 2022, and said McCarthy made it clear the GOP is relying on the president to help deliver them victories in the next election.
“Is that the kind of witness with those kinds of incentives that you want to rely on to be candid?” he said. “And I don’t think that McCarthy has a reputation for candor, so that’s very risky. Whether he will dispute the account of Congresswoman Beutler or add other things to the conversation, you just don’t know.”
House Republicans Face Some Backlash Over Vote To Impeach Sounding A Warning To Senators
January 28, 2021 / 7:01 AM / CBS News
Republicans divided in post-Trump era06:18
In his first phone town hall since voting to impeach former President Trump, a voter told South Carolina Congressman Tom Rice his decision was “inexcusable.”
“Next time around, I don’t think you’re going to get elected,” said his Myrtle Beach constituent, from the district Rice has represented since 2013. “I’m not happy with you. And I certainly won’t vote for you again. So if you can figure out some way to redeem yourself, I’m all ears.”
But the next caller, an 80-year-old woman, commended Rice for the “tremendous courage” he showed by voting for impeachment.
“If you want a Congressman that is going to bow down to bullies… that’ll go along with the crowd, ‘Oh, everybody else on this side voted this way, so I better vote that way so people back home don’t question me — if that’s the guy you want, then I’m not your guy,” Rice said.
“But if you want somebody who’s gonna stand up for what’s right, and protect our Constitution like I took an oath to do, then I am your guy.”
For Rice and the nine other House Republicans who voted for impeachment, Mr. Trump’s rally speech before the attack at the Capitol and his long silence as rioters breached the building was reason enough to join Democrats in impeaching the president a second time.
But their decision was met with an immediate backlash from many constituents, local parties and their Republican colleagues.
Rebecca Kaplan contributed reporting.
All But 5 Republicans Vote To Dismiss Trump Impeachment Trial On Constitutional Grounds
All but five U.S. Senate Republicans voted in favour of an effort to dismiss Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment trial on Tuesday, making clear a conviction of the former president for “incitement of insurrection” after the deadly Capitol siege on Jan. 6 is unlikely.
While the Republicans did not succeed in ending the trial before it began, the test vote made clear that Trump still has enormous sway over his party as he becomes the first former president to be tried for impeachment. Many Republicans have criticized Trump’s role in the attack — before which he told his supporters to “fight like hell” to overturn his defeat — but most of them have rushed to defend him in the trial.
“I think this was indicative of where a lot of people’s heads are,” said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, after the vote.
Read more: Democrats deliver Trump impeachment article to U.S. Senate
Late Tuesday, the presiding officer at the trial, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., was taken to the hospital for observation after not feeling well at his office, spokesman David Carle said in a statement. The 80-year-old senator was examined by the Capitol’s attending physician, who recommended he be taken to the hospital out of an abundance of caution, he said.
The vote means the trial on Trump’s impeachment will begin as scheduled the week of Feb. 8. The House impeached him Jan. 13, just a week after the deadly insurrection in which five people died.
Raskin Ends Democrats’ Closing Arguments: Godspeed To The Senate Of The United States
House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin concluded with a personal anecdote, recalling a conversation he had with his daughter, Hannah, who sympathized with the children of the rioters who mounted the assault on the Capitol and also may not have returned home to their families. His daughter, Raskin said, cut through the politics and legality of the situation, and saw “all the way to the humanity of the situation, the morality of the situation.”
“We must recognize and exercise these crimes against our nation and then we must take care of our people and our children, their hearts and their minds,” he said.
Raskin implored senators to vote according to the truth and questioned whether members would do more to defend the law enforcement officers who protected them January 6 and endured violence and racist slurs, beyond giving them medals.
“Is this America? Is this what we want to bequeath to our children and our grandchildren?” he said.
Raskin said that regardless of whether senators came to Washington to work on defense or agriculture, for example, their vote on impeachment is how they will be remembered.
“That might not be fair, it really might not be fair, but none of us can escape the demands of history and destiny right now,” he said.
Raskin concluded the Democrats’ closing arguments by citing Thomas Paine, for whom his late son, Thomas Raskin, was named after.
Raskin Says They Want To Subpoena Congresswoman Who Recalled Mccarthy Call With Trump
Lead House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin said he wants the Senate to subpoena Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, who confirmed in a statement Friday night that McCarthy urged the president to call off the riot on January 6, Mr. Trump balked and backed the rioters.
“Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” he said, according to the congresswoman’s account of what the minority leader told her.
In her statement, Herrera Beutler also urged others who know more to come forward.
Raskin said he wants the Senate to subpoena the congresswoman and her contemporaneous notes.
“We believe we’ve proven our case,” Raskin said, before adding that he would like to hear from Herrera Beutler.
—Grace Segers and Kathryn Watson
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/trump-impeachment-trial-senate-acquittal/#post-update-e2d41ce9
What Does An Impeachment Vote Mean For A Sitting President And For A Former President
A president can continue governing even after he or she has been impeached by the House of Representatives.
Trump continued to govern after his impeachment in December 2019, and of course, ran for reelection in 2020. After Clinton was impeached on Dec. 19, 1998, he finished out his second term, which ended in January 2001, during which time he was acquitted in a Senate impeachment trial. While Clinton continued governing, and the impeachment had no legal or official impact, his legacy is marred by the proceeding.
Gop Leader Mccarthy: Trump ‘bears Responsibility’ For Violence Won’t Vote To Impeach
Some ambitious Republican senators have never been as on board the Trump train as the more feverish GOP members in the House, and the former might be open to convicting Trump. But their ambition cuts two ways — on the one hand, voting to ban Trump opens a lane to carry the Republican mantle in 2024 and be the party’s new standard-bearer, but, on the other, it has the potential to alienate many of the 74 million who voted for Trump, and whose votes they need.
It’s a long shot that Trump would ultimately be convicted, because 17 Republicans would need to join Democrats to get the two-thirds majority needed for a conviction. But it’s growing clearer that a majority of the Senate will vote to convict him, reflecting the number of Americans who are in favor of impeachment, disapproved of the job Trump has done and voted for his opponent in the 2020 presidential election.
Correction Jan. 14, 2021
A previous version of this story incorrectly said Rep. Peter Meijer is a West Point graduate. Meijer attended West Point, but he is a graduate of Columbia University.
Republicans Who Voted To Acquit Trump Used Questions Of Constitutionality As A Cover
Following the vote, McConnell gave a scathing speech condemning Trump’s lies about election fraud as well as his actions on January 6, only moments after he supported acquittal.
That speech was emblematic of how many Republican senators approached the impeachment vote: Although GOP lawmakers were critical of the attack on January 6, they used a process argument about constitutionality in order to evade confronting Trump on his actual actions.
Effectively, because Trump is no longer in office, Republicans say the Senate doesn’t have jurisdiction to convict him of the article of impeachment. As Vox’s Ian Millhiser explained, there’s some debate over that, but most legal scholars maintain that it is constitutional for the Senate to try a former president.
“If President Trump were still in office, I would have carefully considered whether the House managers proved their specific charge,” McConnell said. McConnell, however, played an integral role in delaying the start of the trial until after Trump was no longer president.
His statement on Saturday was simply a continuation of how Republicans had previously approached Trump’s presidency: There’s been an overwhelming hesitation to hold him accountable while he was in office, and that still appears to be the case for many lawmakers.
Mccarthy Appoints 0 Republicans Who Voted To Impeach Trump To Capitol Riot Committee
U.S.Donald TrumpKevin McCarthyCapitol Riots
Of the six Republicans who were selected to be part of Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s special committee to investigate the Capitol riot, only one voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for his involvement.
The January 6 Capitol riot drove a wedge in the Republican Party, largely in part because of the divide between members over whether Trump was accountable. Frustrated with Republicans blocking the formation of an independent commission, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced the creation of a select committee to investigate the Capitol riot on Thursday.
In announcing the committee, Pelosi said she hoped that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy would appoint “responsible people” to represent Republicans on the committee.
The House minority leader kept his picks close to the chest and hedged on whether he’d even make appointments, days before announcing who he would choose. McCarthy hopes to have Representatives Jim Banks, Jim Jordan, Rodney Davis, Kelly Armstrong and Troy Nehls representing the Republican side.
However, it’s not clear, yet, if any of those Republicans will serve on the committee. Pelosi has the final say as to who gets to be on the committee and some were pushing her to veto Jordan because of his support of Trump’s election fraud claims.
Mcconnell Excoriates Trump While Still Arguing That Impeachment Was Unconstitutional
McConnell denounces Trump after acquittal20:31
In a speech whose first half was reminiscent of the arguments made by House impeachment managers, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell excoriated Mr. Trump and said he was “practically and morally responsible” for the attack on the Capitol on January 6. However, McConnell argued that he believed it was unconstitutional to convict a president who was no longer in office.
“President Trump is practically and morally responsible for the moments provoked that day,” McConnell said, blaming Mr. Trump for the “mob assaulting the Capitol in his name.” “These criminals were carrying his banners. Hanging his flags. And screaming their loyalty to him.”
He said the Capitol assault “was a foreseeable consequence of the growing crescendo of false statements, conspiracy theories and reckless hyperbole which the defeated president kept shouting into the largest megaphone on planet earth.”
But McConnell argued that the former president “is constitutionally not eligible for conviction” — even though the Senate voted 56-44 earlier this week that it was constitutionally possible to convict a former official.
“I believe the Senate was right not to grab power the Constitution doesn’t give us,” McConnell said.
The trial, which began on February 9, lasted only five days.
