House Conservatives Prep Plans To Impeach Biden
Republicans hoping to seize control of the House in November are already setting their sights on what is, for many of them, a top priority next year: impeaching President Biden.
A number of rank-and-file conservatives have already introduced impeachment articles in the current Congress against the president. They accuse Biden of committing high crimes in his approach to a range of issues touching on border enforcement, the coronavirus pandemic and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
Those resolutions never had a chance of seeing the light of day, with Democrats holding a narrow control of the lower chamber. But with Republicans widely expected to win the House majority in the midterms, many of those same conservatives want to tap their new potential powers to oust a president they deem unfit. Some would like to make it a first order of business.
I have consistently said President Biden should be impeached for intentionally opening our border and making Americans less safe, said Rep. Bob Good . Congress has a duty to hold the President accountable for this and any other failures of his Constitutional responsibilities, so a new Republican majority must be prepared to aggressively conduct oversight on day one.
Those proposals will expire with the end of this Congress. But some of the sponsors are already vowing to revisit them quickly next year. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene , the lead sponsor of four of the impeachment resolutions, is among them.
Trump Impeachment May Define The Republican Party
With an impeachment vote Wednesday, Republicans stand on the brink of a historic decision over whether to punish or protect a president who many say incited a deadly mob to overrun the U.S. Capitol in a push to overturn the election result.
The decision could define the party and shape American democracy for generations to come.
A handful of House Republicans have endorsed impeachment, most notably the third-ranking Rep. Liz Cheney, of Wyoming, who said President Donald Trump “lit the flame of this attack” and who accused him of an unprecedented “betrayal” of his oath to the Constitution.
Others Republicans who announced support for impeachment Tuesday were Reps. John Katko of New York, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Fred Upton of Michigan and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington. The impeachment measure is likely to sail through the Democratic-led House, with or without Republican support.
How 10 House Republicans Who Voted To Impeach Trump Fared In 2022 Primaries
Rep. Liz Cheney was defeated Tuesday night in the Republican primary for Wyoming’s at-large Congressional District. Her loss means only two of the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump over the will be on the ballot in November.
Of the ten, four lost primaries, four decided not to run for reelection and two survived.
Here’s a breakdown of each of them:
Liz Cheney, Wyoming
Although both were elected in 2016 and were once allies, Cheney became of Trump’s fiercest critics after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. In the months after the attack, Cheney was censured by the Wyoming Republican Party and was removed from her position as the third-highest ranking Republican in the House.
But Cheney remained defiant, and she was one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s picks for the House committee investigating the attack, becoming the vice chair.
Trump backed Harriet Hageman to take on Cheney in the primary. Hageman had been a critic and backed Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2016 presidential primary.
As she sank in the polls in her home state, Cheney continued her high-profile fight against Trump. She was one of the leaders of the House Jan. 6 committee public hearings, and she told CBS News’ Robert Costa after she voted Tuesday that the primary is “certainly the beginning of a battle that is going to continue to go on. And as a country, we’re facing a moment where our democracy really is under attack and under threat.”
Peter Meijer, Michigan
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In her interview with ABC News, Herrera Beutler would not say whether she would support McCarthy for speaker should Republicans take the House. And while she has largely stayed clear of commenting on Trump or the Capitol riot since her impeachment vote, Herrera Beutler also declined to say whether she would vote for Trump should he run for president again.
“The next 24 hours, the only thing I’m focusing on, honestly, is my race,” she said. “Right now, there isn’t an election in 2024. There’s one in 2022.”
Across the state, Newhouse faces one Democrat and six Republicans, including Loren Culp, a former police chief and GOP candidate who refused to concede his 2020 race against Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee.
The Washington incumbents have largely avoided mentioning their votes to impeach Trump while on the campaign trail, opting instead to zero-in on local issues.
“It was a year and a half ago. I’ve been talking about it for over a year. I feel fine, I feel good,” Newhouse told ABC News last week on Capitol Hill.
In Michigan, Meijer, who voted to impeach Trump just 10 days into his first term in Congress, faces John Gibbs, a former Trump administration official who Democrats have controversially attempted to spotlight with an ad linking him to Trump, a strategy that even some Democrats have panned.
“That is what I have run to offer. That is what I’ve done while in office,” he said.
House Now Conducting Procedural Rule Votes
The House has concluded debate on the procedural rule ahead of impeachment.
There will now be two procedural votes. These are not votes on the actual article of impeachment.
The first vote is a procedural vote offered by Republicans that seeks to amend the rule to immediately consider H.R. 275, which establishes a bipartisan commission to examine the circumstances around the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6. This vote will take between 40 minutes and 1 hour.
The second vote governs the floor for consideration of the article of impeachment, setting up two hours of debate. This vote is also expected to take between 40 minutes and 1 hour.
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Ivanka Trump Not Expected To Attend Inauguration
Peter Alexander
Ivanka Trump is not expected to attend President-elect Bidens inauguration next week, according to a White House official. While she respects his transition to power, according to this official, the official said children of outgoing presidents do not always attend.
President Trump has also said he will not attend the ceremony.
Our Coverage Of The Jan 6 Investigations
The Justice Department Investigation
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Questions About Trumps Role: Federal prosecutors have directly asked witnesses about former President Donald J. Trumps involvement in efforts to reverse his election loss, a person familiar with the matter said. The revelation suggests that the Justice Departments criminal investigation has moved into a more aggressive and politically fraught phase.
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Could Trump Face Charges?: In an interview with The Times on The Daily, one of the last federal prosecutors to lead an investigation into Mr. Trump discussed the challenges of bringing charges against him.
The House Investigation
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House Republicans Impeached Trump Heres Where They Stand Now
Rep. Liz Cheney became the final pro-impeachment House Republican to have their primary and the latest one to lose their race.
Cheney was among 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Her impeachment vote and her participation on the House select committee investigating Jan. 6 drew the ire of Trump, who endorsed attorney Harriet Hageman in the Wyoming primary.
Trump has waded into a number of primary battles in an effort to unseat Republicans whom he believes crossed him following the 2020 election and Capitol riot. Heres a list of where those 10 House Republicans currently stand.
Group Of Prominent Business Leaders Says Trump ‘deserves The Strongest Possible Condemnation’
A group representing CEOs from 200 major U.S. companies, including Walmart, Amazon, Apple, ExxonMobil and Boeing, called on elected officials Wednesday to do their utmost to counteract false claims of a fraudulent election and promote a restoration of civility and decency in governance.
The Business Roundtable said in a press statement that President Donald Trumps behavior “encouraging an assault on the Capitol” and his calls to overturn the results of the election deserves the strongest possible condemnation.
All our efforts depend on commitment to our countrys most fundamental democratic principles, including honoring the results of free and fair elections and the peaceful transition of power, the group added. We leave it to our elected leaders to judge the feasibility or wisdom of attempting to remove the President from office in the final days of his term.
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Led By Cheney 10 House Republicans Back Trump Impeachment
WASHINGTON Ten Republicans including Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House GOP leader voted to impeach President Donald Trump Wednesday over the deadly insurrection at the Capitol. The GOP votes were in sharp contrast to the unanimous support for Trump among House Republicans when he was impeached by Democrats in December 2019.
Cheney, whose decision to buck Trump sparked an immediate backlash within the GOP, was the only member of her partys leadership to support impeachment, which was opposed by 197 Republicans.
Trump summoned the mob that attacked the Capitol, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack, Cheney said, adding, Everything that followed was his doing. Trump could have immediately intervened to stop his supporters from rioting but did not, she noted. The riot resulted in five deaths, including that of a Capitol police officer.
Katko, a former federal prosecutor who represents the Syracuse area, said allowing Trump to incite this attack without consequence would be a direct threat to the future of our democracy.
Cnn Host Clashes With Gop Rep Who Faulted ‘both Sides’ For Capitol Riots
Randi Richardson
CNN’s John Berman pushed back on Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., Wednesday morning for faulting “both sides” for last week’s riots at the Capitol.
Berman had spent several minutes pressing Buck to answer if President Donald Trump deserves to be impeached for encouraging his supporters to storm the Capitol. But Buck said after years of increasing animosity between Republicans and Democrats, blaming one Trump speech for the riots is inaccurate.
Buck added, “what I’m trying to suggest to you is that both sides are at fault and that in America,” before Berman interrupted him to ask, “What on earth did any other side do than the side that invaded the U.S. Capitol?”
Buck deflected the question, saying, “The people who came into the Capitol are the people responsible for that action. This animosity has been building for years. It wasn’t as if the president gave one speech and all of a sudden people went from perfectly calm and thoughtful demeanor to this violent action that occurred.”
The exchange happened just before the House prepared to vote on an article of impeachment.
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Trump Monitoring Proceedings From The White House
Kristen Welker and Peter Alexander
President Trump has been monitoring the impeachment proceedings largely from the Oval Office, and in a few instances from the dining room, according to an administration official.
A few more officials have trickled in throughout the day, but for the most part the West Wing has been sparsely-staffed.
“As much as we can, we are focusing on the transition, highlighting success of the last four years, and continuing the work of government until the next administration takes over, an administration official tells NBC News.
There has been outreach between the White House and Republican leadership on the Hill in recent days, the official said, but did not give specific details.
When pressed on why there is no clear legal or communications strategy, the official said the reason, in part, is that the impeachment proceedings came together so quickly. While the president and his allies are dismissing the impeachment as a politically motivated witch hunt, concerns are starting to set in given the growing number of GOP defections.
The Impeachment : Whos In Whos Out And Whose Fate Is Yet To Be Decided
Only two House Republicans out of the 10 who supported the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump â and have subsequently been a constant target of his wrath â won their primary races.
Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the vice chair of the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack that led to Trumpâs impeachment, lost her primary Tuesday against attorney Harriet Hageman, whom Trump previously endorsed. Reps. Dan Newhouse of Washington and David Valadao of California won their respective primaries.
While many of the âImpeachment 10â are not running for reelection, it was an uphill battle for those who did, with four losing to their primary challengers.
See how the “Impeachment 10” fared this midterm cycle.
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Putting Trumps House Gop Defectors Into Historical Context
WASHINGTON In 1998, five House Democrats broke with their party to impeach Bill Clinton over his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
And in 2019, zero House Republicans defected from Donald Trump when he was impeached over the Ukraine matter.
Thats the modern-day historical context to evaluate the number of House Republicans who might eventually vote on Wednesday to impeach Trump over his role in last weeks insurrection at the Capitol.
As of 9 a.m. ET Wednesday, 5 House Republicans say they will vote to impeach Pres. Trump: Rep. Cheney of WY
Pelosi Calls Trump ‘a Clear And Present Danger’ To The Us Ahead Of Impeachment Vote
Opening two hours of debate ahead of the impeachment vote Wednesday afternoon, Pelosi laid out her argument for why the president should be held accountable for the events leading to the riot in the Capitol last week.
“We know that the president of the United States incited this insurrection, this armed rebellion, against our country,” she said in remarks on the House floor. “He must go. He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love.”
Pelosi said the people who participated in the insurrection were “not patriots,” but rather “domestic terrorists.”
She called on Republicans to “search your souls” as they approached the vote.
“Is the president’s war on democracy in keeping with the Constitution? Were his words and insurrectionary mob a high crime and misdemeanor?” she asked.
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Putting Country Before Party Has Cost Some Republicans
Like Cheney, Meijer boldly put country before party by being one of the 10 House GOP members who voted to impeach Trump after the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021. Meijer lost his primary race to the Trump-endorsed John Gibbs.
In Michigan: Democrats should hang their heads in shame for helping oust principled Republican
Fellow impeachment voter Rep. Tom Rice, R-S.C., was also trounced by a Trump-endorsed candidate in June. In addition, four of the House GOP members who voted to impeach Trump have announced their intentions to retire from Congress.
Only three of the 10 have survived GOP primaries this year. In June, Rep. David Valadao of California advanced to the general election. Last week, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Rep. Dan Newhouse appear to have moved on to November after the Washington state primary.
Primaries: Election conspiracies and Donald Trump’s long trail of broken brains
But it remains an open question whether any of the GOP members of Congress who voted to impeach Trump will stay in the chamber after November.
How House Republicans Who Voted To Impeach Trump Fared In Tuesday Primaries
Donald Trump has claimed another scalp in his revenge plot towards House Republicans who voted to impeach him over the January 6 attack in Tuesday’s primaries, but two more could advance to November’s midterms.
Rep. Peter Meijer, one of 10 GOP congressmen who voted to impeach the former president last January, lost the primary in Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District to the Trump-endorsed and 2020-election denier John Gibbs.
Meijer conceded the neck and neck race at around 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday. With 55 percent of the votes reported, Gibbs leads Meijer by 51.8 percentage points to 48.2.
Meijer is the second House Republican who voted to impeach Trump to have gone on to lose their primary. In June, Rep. Tom Rice suffered a rare incumbent defeat after losing to state Representative Russell Fry in South Carolina’s 7th District.
Four others will be leaving office at the end of their current term, with Wyoming rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack, facing a battle to keep her seat as she faces the Trump-endorsed candidate Harriet Hageman in the August 16 GOP primary. California’s David Valadao advanced from his primary on June 7.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump declared it a “fantastic night in Michigan” in which Tudor Dixon, whom he had endorsed, also won the race to be the GOP’s nomination for governor in the state.
Newsweek had contacted Peter Meijer for comment.
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Where The 10 House Republicans Who Voted To Impeach Trump Stand
Rep. Tom Rice’s primary loss in South Carolina on Tuesday made him the first Republican lawmaker who voted for former President Donald Trump’s impeachment to be defeated in a primary.
But Rice wasn’t the only one to vote to impeach Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. In all, 10 House Republicans moved to impeach the former president, and while half of them have chosen not to seek reelection, others are taking their chances with voters this year.
Here’s where the 10 pro-impeachment House Republicans currently stand.
