Unlike Trump’s first impeachment in early 2020, 10 House Republicans ultimately supported the Democrat-led effort the second time around and voted to impeach the president.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced the sole article of impeachment on Tuesday accusing President Donald Trump of inciting insurrection. On Jan. 6, a pro-Trump mob clashed with Capitol Police and stormed the Capitol itself, forcing lawmakers into hiding and resulting in the deaths of five people.
Below are the House Republicans who voted to impeach the president. (RELATED: Biden Wants To Unify The Country. How Will A Trump Impeachment Affect That?)
John Katko
New York Rep. John Katko became the first House Republican to say publicly that he would vote to impeach the president, telling Syracuse.com that “to allow the president of the United States to incite this attack without consequence is a direct threat to the future of our democracy.”
“For that reason, I cannot sit by without taking action. I will vote to impeach the president,” he added.
Adam Kinzinger
Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger called for Trump to be removed from office and has long criticized the president and other members of his party who amplified baseless claims of voter fraud.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the President of the United States broke his oath of office and incited this insurrection,” Kinzinger said in a statement Tuesday.
“If these actions — the Article II branch inciting a deadly insurrection against the Article I branch — are not worthy of impeachment, then what is an impeachable offense?” Kinzinger said.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger questions witnesses during a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing looking into the firing of State Department Inspector General Steven Linick (Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)
Liz Cheney
The highest-profile House Republican to vote for impeachment was House Conference Chair Liz Cheney, who has broken from the president in the past, particularly with regard to foreign policy.
“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,” Cheney said in a statement.
“None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”
Fred Upton
Michigan Rep. Fred Upton and Washington Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, both of whom said that they would vote to impeach as well.
“I would have preferred a bipartisan, formal censure rather than a drawn-out impeachment process,” Upton said in a statement on Tuesday. “But it is time to say: enough is enough.”
Jaime Herrera Beutler
Washington Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler said that while she understood “the argument that the best course is not to further inflame the country or alienate Republican voters… I see that my own party will be best served when those among us choose truth.”
“I believe President Trump acted against his oath of office, so I will vote to impeach him,” Beutler said.
Peter Meijer
Michigan Rep. Peter Meijer also announced on Wednesday that he would vote to impeach the president, saying in a statement that Trump “betrayed and misled millions” after repeating his baseless claims of election fraud.
“With a heavy heart, I will vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump,” he said.
US Vice President Mike Pence stands with Republican congressional candidate in the 3rd district, Peter Meijer at a campaign event at Lacks Enterprises, Inc. in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on October 14, 2020. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
Anthony Gonzalez
Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez said in a statement that the president “helped organize and incite a mob that attacked the United States Congress,” adding that “the President’s lack of response” led him to vote to impeach.
Dan Newhouse
Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse vote to impeach the president, saying that the mob that attacked the Capitol was “inflamed by the language and misinformation of the President of the United States.”
“Turning a blind eye to this brutal assault on our Republic is not an option,” he added.
Tom Rice
South Carolina Rep. Tom Rice voted to impeach the president as well. While he said that he did not know if Trump’s words amounted to inciting a riot under its legal definition, he lamented his actions as his supporters stormed the Capitol: “When the Capitol Police were being beaten and killed, and when the Vice President and the Congress were being locked down, the President was watching and tweeted about the Vice President’s lack of courage… and offered only weak requests for restraint.”
“I have backed the President through thick and thin for four years. I campaigned for him and voted for him twice. But, this utter failure is inexcusable,” he added.
David Valadao
California Rep. David Valadao voted to impeach Trump on Wednesday, just one day after he was sworn in, calling him a “driving force” behind the Capitol riot that occurred on Jan. 6.
While he criticized the rushed process, he said he voted his conscience, adding that Trump’s rhetoric was “un-American, abhorrent, and absolutely an impeachable offense.”
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