Voted To Impeach Two Presidents
Mr. Upton is quick to pull out his cell phone and show pictures of his grandson. But scrolling a little bit farther back, he finds photos of a crowd approaching the Capitol steps on Jan. 6 an overhead view from the balcony of his office.
He was in his office when he saw the news on the TV, and then out his window. Mr. Upton heard the flash grenades and locked the doors of his office. He turned off the lights so it would look like the room was empty.
It was real, says Mr. Upton. And it was pretty scary.
But it was Mr. Trumps comments afterward, when he said that his speech before the riot was totally appropriate Mr. Upton does air quotes here that made the congressman vote in favor of impeachment.
People know that Im not afraid to oppose or support any president, says Mr. Upton. Ive served with what eight presidents now? The congressman looks at Ms. Hillebrands and begins to count on his fingers: Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden. He corrects himself: seven presidents.
My successor at OMB … he goes, Well Fred, youre going to be with The Gipper on this, right? and I said, Well, no, recalls Mr. Upton, chuckling. Its who Ive always been. I havent changed.
And with his vote to impeach President Bill Clinton in 1998 and then Mr. Trump in 2021, Mr. Upton holds another superlative: the only U.S. Representative in the countrys history to have voted to impeach two presidents.
Then he signed it, as he does with all his mail: Fred.
Donald Trump: Impeached In 2019 And 2021
On October 9, 2019 in Washington, D.C., President Trump answers questions on a pending impeachment inquiry.
On September 24, 2019, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump regarding his alleged efforts to pressure the President of Ukraine to investigate possible wrongdoings by his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
The decision to authorize the impeachment inquiry came after a leaked whistleblower complaint detailed a July phone conversation between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky in which Trump allegedly tied Ukrainian military aid to personal political favors. The White House later released a reconstructed of the phone call, which many Democrats argued demonstrated that Trump had violated the Constitution.
On December 18, 2019, President Trump became the third U.S. president in history to be impeached as the House of Representatives voted nearly along party lines to impeach him over abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. No Republicans voted in favor of either article of impeachment, while three Democrats voted against one or both.On February 5, 2020, the Senate largely along party lines to acquit Trump on both charges.
Trump Calls For ‘no Violence’ As Congress Moves To Impeach Him For Role In Riot
This time, there will be more. Some Republican senators have called on Trump to resign, and even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he is undecided at this point.
Trump’s impeachment won’t lead to his removal even if he is convicted because of the timeline. The Senate is adjourned until Tuesday. The next day, Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president. But there’s another penalty the Constitution allows for as a result of a Senate conviction that could be appealing to some Republican senators banning Trump from holding “office” again.
While there is some debate as to the definition of “office” in the Constitution and whether that would apply to running for president or even Congress, that kind of public rebuke would send a strong message that Republicans are ready to move on from Trumpism.
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:
House Republicans Join Democrats In Voting To Impeach Trump
January 13, 2021 / 4:53 PM / CBS News
Washington Ten Republican members of the House, including one of its highest-ranking leaders, joined Democrats in voting to impeach President Trump for inciting the deadly attack on the Capitol last week by a violent mob of his supporters.
The final vote was 232 to 197, as the 10 Republicans joined all 222 Democrats in voting in favor of the impeachment resolution.
The article of impeachment will next be delivered to the Senate, where Mr. Trump will be placed on trial. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said after the House vote that there is “simply no chance that a fair or serious trial could conclude before President-elect Biden is sworn in next week.”
Mr. Trump is the first president to be impeached twice. When he was impeached in 2019 over his attempts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden, no House Republicans voted in favor of impeaching him. But this time, 10 members of his own party determined his actions warranted impeachment.
Here are the Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump:
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Liz Cheney of Wyoming
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Tom Rice of South Carolina
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Fred Upton of Michigan
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David Valadao of California
Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the House, said in a statement on Tuesday that she would vote to impeach Mr. Trump after he whipped up his supporters Wednesday at a rally not far from the Capitol.
Newhouse said on Wednesday that he would support impeachment.
Washington Rep Dan Newhouse
Newhouse was first elected during a Republican wave in 2014. He beat a Democratic challenger by 33 points in November, solidly overperforming Trumps 18-point win in Washingtons agricultural 4th District. He serves on the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee with Herrera Beutler.
A vote against this impeachment is a vote to validate the unacceptable violence we witnessed in our nations capital, he said in a statement. It is also a vote to condone the presidents inaction.
Newhouses views have not always aligned with Trumps on key issues, but he has modified positions in response to the Trump administrations actions. He was a strong supporter of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program but said after the Trump administration ended the program that it was never the long-term answer. He is concerned about the national debt but voted for the 2017 GOP tax overhaul that contributed to its increase. He has had a 90 percent presidential unity score during the Trump administration. But on Wednesday, he said Trump failed when the country needed a leader.
Rep Jaime Herrera Beutler
Herrera Beutler has bucked her party on occasion she didnt vote for Trump in 2016 because of his disparaging comments about women and immigrants from Mexico, and she refused to join the 2017 GOP push to repeal Obamacare. But she said in the summer that the president earned her vote for a second term.
But on Tuesday the Washington congresswoman announced that she would vote to impeach him. The Presidents offenses, in my reading of the Constitution, were impeachable based on the indisputable evidence we already have, she said.
Republicans Who Voted To Acquit Trump Used Questions Of Constitutionality As A Cover
Following the vote, McConnell gave a scathing speech condemning Trumps 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 doesnt have jurisdiction to convict him of the article of impeachment. As Voxs Ian Millhiser explained, theres 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 Trumps presidency: Theres been an overwhelming hesitation to hold him accountable while he was in office, and that still appears to be the case for many lawmakers.
The Seven Republicans Who Voted To Convict Trump In Impeachment Trial
Washington: Donald Trump has been acquitted in his impeachment trial on a charge of inciting insurrection in a January 6 speech to supporters just before hundreds of them stormed the US Capitol.
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. One of them, Richard Burr, had previously voted that the proceeding was unconstitutional because Trump left office on January 20, a motion rejected by the Senate.
Senator Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina voted to impeach Trump. Credit:Bloomberg
What If Anything Will We Hear From Trump
Trump is now without the tool he used during the previous impeachment trial to try to influence the proceedings: his Twitter account.
On the second day of his 2020 trial, Trump pumped 140 tweets, including retweets, into his timeline. Now his account is suspended, along with his Facebook and Instagram accounts. As a result, his attorneys will probably have to carry the burden.
Will The Stimulus Bill Boost Democrats Electoral Prospects
But is this opposition real or just noise? After all, were still a long way from the 2022 primaries, which leaves plenty of time for anger surrounding their votes to impeach Trump to fade.
related:Sometimes Senators Just Retire. Dont Read Too Much Into The Recent GOP Exodus. Read more. »
At first glance, the seriousness of the primary challengers does vary quite a bit, ranging from the very serious that is, other elected officials, who tend to be stronger candidates to political newcomers like a conservative activist best known for getting married in a MAGA dress. Yet, in most cases, these representatives should all have at least some reason to be concerned about winning renomination in 2022 especially those who hail from more Republican-leaning districts.
Republicans who voted to impeach face primary challenges
The 10 House Republicans who backed impeachment, including whether they were publicly admonished by state or local Republican Party committees and whether they have a primary challenger
| Representative | |
|---|---|
| -10.9 |
*Valadao lost reelection in Californias 21st Congressional District in 2018 but won the seat back in 2020.
Admonishment includes a censure or public rebuke by a Republican Party committee at the state, district or county level.
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The Gop Senators Likely To Vote For Trump’s Conviction
Senators say as many as a half-dozen GOP lawmakers could vote with Democrats to convict former President TrumpDonald TrumpWalensky says ‘now is the time’ to tackle gun violence: reportBanks fights Jan. 6 committee effort to seek lawmaker recordsBiden to raise pay for federal employees effective Jan. 1.MORE for inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6 after the powerful presentations by impeachment managers, including chilling footage of the attack on the Capitol.
That would not be enough to secure a conviction of Trump, something that would require at least 17 Republican votes assuming every Democrat in the chamber votes to impeach. But it would be the largest bipartisan Senate majority in history for a presidential impeachment vote.
Heres a look at the six GOP votes seen as being in play.
Willard Mitt RomneyMitt Romney was right: Too many Americans are dependent on government Democrats sound alarm over loss in Connecticut suburbsLawmakers flooded with calls for help on Afghanistan exitMORE
Romney is viewed as a lock to vote for Trumps conviction after he was the only Republican senator to vote to remove Trump from office after his first impeachment trial last year.
Previously unreleased security footage played on the second day of the trial showed Romney narrowly missed walking into a crowd of angry rioters thanks to the quick thinking of Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who redirected Romney away from the violent crowd as it marched toward the chamber.
A 2/3 Majority Is Needed In The Senate To Remove Trump
Getty
A 2/3 majority of the Senates 100 members would need to vote to for the President to be removed from office before Trump would actually be removed. Like former President Bill Clinton, he could be impeached but never actually removed from office.
That 2/3 majority would be tough to get. A total of 67 Senators would need to vote to convict and remove Trump. There are 45 Democrat Senators and 53 Republican Senators, plus two Independents who typically vote Democrat. So to reach the 67 total needed to remove Trump, they would need at least 20 Republicans to join with Democrats in voting to remove Trump ,Reuters reported.
It will likely be really tough to get 20 Republicans to agree to vote to remove Trump.
Before the vote, there would be a trial with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presiding. The House of Representatives would essentially act as the prosecutor, Vox reported, and the Presidents lawyers would be the defense. Witnesses are deposed and sometimes live witness testimony also occurs.
Sen. Chris Murphy has said that he only knows of a handful of Republicans who might vote to remove Trump, The Hill reported. He wouldnt name them, but he said some in the Senate were considering it, but it was a small list that could be counted on one hand.
He also said that an anonymous removal vote wouldnt be appropriate and, even if it happened, only a handful of Republicans would still consider voting to remove Trump.
Republican Groups Censure Party Lawmakers Who Voted To Impeach Convict Trump
Kinzinger said 11 family members sent him a handwritten two-page note that started, Oh my, what a disappointment you are to us and to God!The letter accused him of working with the devils army, which it said included Democrats and the fake news media.We thought you were smart enough to see how the left is brainwashing many so called good people including yourself and other Republicans. You have even fallen for their socialism ideals! So, so sad!It is now most embarrassing to us that we are related to you, the family members wrote. You have embarrassed the Kinzinger family name.Kinzinger said the family members suffered from brainwashing at conservative churches.I hold nothing against them, he said, but I have zero desire or feel the need to reach out and repair that. That is 100% on them to reach out and repair, and quite honestly, I dont care if they do or not.Kinzinger said he knows his vote against Trump could imperil his political career but that he couldnât live with myself if the one time I was called to do a really tough duty, I didnât do it.
While Most Republicans Are Likely To Vote To Acquit The Former President A Handful Of Votes Appear To Be In Play
Former President Donald Trumps 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 Senates 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 arms-length, especially when running successfully for a fifth term last year. Ms. Collins frequently falls back on a refrain that as a juror she cant comment on impeachment proceedings until she gets to hear from the prosecution and the defense, but she has sharply criticized Trumps 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
Will Trump Be Impeached
As Democrats hold a majority in the House, the vote is likely to pass.
“We have been asked to turn a blind eye to the criminality, corruption and blatant disregard to the rule of law by the tyrant president we have in the White House,” Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar said in the House debate.
“We as a nation can no longer look away.”
At least nine Republicans have voted in favour impeachment, but the majority remain loyal to the president.
“Instead of moving forward as a unifying force, the majority in the House is choosing to divide us further… Let us look forward, not backward. Let us come together, not apart,” Republican Tom Cole told the House.
He was one of 139 Republicans who last week voted against accepting the result of the 2020 election and Mr Trump’s defeat.
Once it has passed in the House of Representatives, the impeachment article will then head for the Senate, where a trial will be held to determine the president’s guilt.
A two-thirds majority would be needed there to convict Mr Trump, meaning at least 17 Republicans would have to vote for conviction. As many as 20 Senate Republicans are open to convicting the president, the New York Times reports.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he had not yet decided whether or not he would vote in favour of impeachment.
The Senate will not reconvene this week and probably not until 19 January, according to Mr McConnell’s spokesman.
The Gop Impeachment 10 Try To Navigate Cheneys Demise And Their Own Futures
When 10 Republicans voted to impeach President Donald Trump on Jan. 13, it marked a historic milestone: It was the most House members from a presidents party to vote to remove him from office.
But since that vote, the 10 lawmakers have cut different paths in grappling with the fallout as they consider their political futures in a party still beholden to Trump.
Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger have made their votes career-defining, arguing that pushing back against Trumps false assertions that the 2020 election was stolen is about protecting democracy and the soul of the Republican Party.
Others, such as Reps. Anthony Gonzalez , Jaime Herrera Beutler and Peter Meijer , have vocally defended their votes and Cheney amid a caucuswide push to oust her from leadership, though they have not sought to make it a marquee issue.
The rest have moved on, even if they stand by their decision, seemingly in line with House GOP leaderships argument that what is important now is opposing President Bidens agenda and regaining the majority in the 2022 midterms, not what happened after the 2020 election.
If Cheney is ousted from her leadership post this week as expected, it would highlight how much the January vote to impeach Trump by the 10 GOP lawmakers was not the start of some bigger movement, but a momentary blip of resistance in a party that has been wedded to Trump since he entered the White House in 2017 and remains loyal to him still.
Rep Dan Newhouse Washington
Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washingtons 4th Congressional District on Wednesday voted to impeach Trump shortly after announcing his decision to do so on the House floor.
These articles of impeachment are flawed, but I will not use process as an excuse for President Trumps actions, Newhouse said.
The president took an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Last week there was a domestic threat at the door of the Capitol and he did nothing to stop it.
In a separate statement released the same day, Newhouse said Trump did not strongly condemn the attack nor did he call in reinforcements when our officers were overwhelmed. Our country needed a leader, and President Trump failed to fulfill his oath of office.
In Trump’s 2019 Impeachment Trial Romney Was The Only Republican Who Voted To Convict Already Six Times That Many Have Broken With The Ex
A second defendant has stepped into the dock in this first week of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. The brilliant work by the House managers contrasted with the inept showing by the former president’s counsel so far leaves no good excuse for anything other than a conviction. That one-sidedness puts the U.S. Senate itself on trial, threatening serious reputational, career and historical consequences for senators who fail do the right thing vote to convict Trump.
As a trial lawyer who served as co-counsel for the first impeachment of then-President Trump, I had been expecting surprises and there were many. The House managers enlivened what was supposed to be a constitutional debate Tuesday by previewing their main argument: that Trump knowingly incited the insurrectionists. It’s amazing that Trump’s lawyers were caught off guard by this. We did the same thing in the 2019 impeachment trial, using the opening debate over whether to call witnesses to preview the entire case. Nevertheless, Trump’s counsel were thrown into confusion they both showed it and one admitted that they’ll “have to do better.”
How Many Republicans Will Vote To Convict
In Trump’s first impeachment trial, one year ago, just one Republican voted to convict, Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the party’s 2012 presidential nominee. If Democrats unanimously vote to convict him again, at least 17 Republicans would have to join them to succeed.
That’s a high bar.
The likeliest targets, apart from Romney, are Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he will keep an open mind, a departure from a year ago, when he declared the effort dead before the proceedings began.
Some GOP leaders are, again, telegraphing failure.
“At this point, there’s not going to be a conviction. You can read the writing on the wall,” John Barrasso of Wyoming, the Senate’s third-ranking Republican, said recently on CNN.
House Impeaches Trump A 2nd Time Citing Insurrection At Us Capitol
This vote could expose some of them to potential primary challenges from the right as well as possible safety threats, but for all of them Trump had simply gone too far. Multiple House Republicans said threats toward them and their families were factors weighing on their decisions on whether to impeach this president.
Ten out of 211 Republicans in the House is hardly an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote, and clearly, most Republicans’ sympathies still lie with Trump and his ardent base of followers. But the 10 represent something significant the most members of a president’s party to vote for his impeachment in U.S. history.
