President Donald Trump has been impeached for a second time. The final vote was 232 to 197.
Roll Call
10 Republicans joined all 222 Democrats in passing the resolution in the House of Representatives to impeach Donald Trump. 4 Republicans did not vote. The 10 Republican representatives who voted in favor were:
Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington
Rep. John Katko of New York
Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington
Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan
Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming
Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan
Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio
Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina
Rep. David Valadao of California.
The Republican representatives who did not vote were:
Rep. Kay Granger of Texas
Rep Andy Harris of Maryland
Rep. Gregory Murphy of North Carolina
Rep. Daniel Webster of Florida
A Bizarre Scene
The House voted on Wednesday in a Capitol building that was heavily guarded by the National Guard, with troops both inside and around the structure. It is expected that at least 20,000 members of the National Guard will be in Washington D.C. to provide protection during the inauguration.
The result of the resolution makes Trump the first president to be impeached twice. He has been charged with “incitement of insurrection” for his role in riling up supporters before and during the siege of the Capitol building last week. The president has made many false claims regarding fraud in the 2020 election. This disinformation peddled by him and other high profile supporters has created further radicalization in his base.
Moving Forward
Next the resolution goes to the Senate where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says a trial for conviction will not begin until January 19th, one day before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. McConnell has expressed tepid support for conviction though he has not clarified how he will vote. It will likely be a difficult task, but it does not seem impossible for Democrats to get the 17 votes from Republicans they will need.
Should the Senate vote to convict Trump by two-thirds majority a simple majority may vote to approve banning Trump from running again in the future. This ban would also cost him $200,000 a year in pension should they decide to take it away.
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