Ten House Republicans joined with Democrats to impeach President Trump for “incitement of insurrection” following last week’s siege on the U.S. Capitol, making the second impeachment of a lame-duck president a bipartisan effort.
Other Republicans warned that impeachment would only serve to further divide the country and enrage Trump supporters due to there being only one week left of Trump’s presidency.
The number of GOP defections was lower than some theorized it could be. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise told reporters immediately following the vote that Republicans are trying to “focus on the transition” and “ratcheting down the rhetoric and not settling political scores.”
Here are the Republicans who voted “yes” for impeachment on Wednesday:
- Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney
Cheney, the third-ranking member of the House Republican caucus, called impeachment a “vote of conscience.”
“The President of the United States summoned this mob and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the president. The president could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not,” Cheney said in a statement on Tuesday.
Her support for impeachment prompted House allies of Trump, such as House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, to call for her to leave her House leadership position.
- Washington Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler
“I understand the argument that the best course is not to further inflame the country or alienate Republican voters,” Herrera Beutler said in a Tuesday statement. “I believe President Trump acted against his oath of office, so I will vote to impeach him.”
- Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez
Gonzalez did not announce his vote ahead of time, but his office released a statement following the vote: “When I consider the full scope of events leading up to January 6th including the President’s lack of response as the United States Capitol was under attack, I am compelled to support impeachment.”
Gonzalez, a former professional football player on the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots, is in his second congressional term.
- New York Rep. John Katko
Katko was the first House Republican to say that he would vote to impeach Trump.
In a Tuesday statement, he asked that if Trump’s actions “are not worthy of impeachment, then what is an impeachable offense?”
- Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger
Kinzinger, a frequent Trump critic, said in a Tuesday statement that “there is no doubt in my mind that the President of the United States broke his oath of office and incited this insurrection.”
- Michigan Rep. Pete Meijer
Meijer, a freshman who replaced former Rep. Justin Amash in the House and whose wealthy family owns the Michigan-based Meijer grocery store chain, has emerged as a Trump critic in his short time in the House.
“I have wrestled with the division this vote will cause,” Meijer said in a statement on Wednesday, released just before the House voted on the impeachment article. “But today, my job is to apply my best judgment to the article of impeachment that is on the floor of the U.S. Congress. With the facts at hand, I believe the article of impeachment to be accurate.”
Asked earlier on Wednesday if Michigan is ready for him to make such a statement on impeachment, Meijer told reporters, “Time will tell.”
- Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse
“Turning a blind eye to this brutal assault on our republic is not an option. A vote against this impeachment is a vote to validate the unacceptable violence witnessed in our nation’s capital. It is also a vote to condone President Trump’s inaction,” Newhouse said in a statement Wednesday.
- South Carolina Rep. Tom Rice
Rice did not announce his intention to impeach Trump ahead of the vote, and his support for impeachment came as a big surprise to observers.
In a statement released after the vote, Rice said: “I have backed this President through thick and thin for four years. I campaigned for him and voted for him twice. But, this utter failure is inexcusable.”
- Michigan Rep. Fred Upton
“Today the president characterized his inflammatory rhetoric at last Wednesday’s rally as ‘totally appropriate,’ and he expressed no regrets for last week’s violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. This sends exactly the wrong signal to those of use who support the very core of our Democratic principles and took a solemn oath to the Constitution,” Upton said in a statement Tuesday. “I would have preferred a bipartisan, formal censure rather than a drawn-out impeachment process. I fear this will now interfere with important legislative business and a new Biden administration. But it is time to say: Enough is enough.”
- California Rep. David Valadao
The California representative did not announce his intention to vote to impeach Trump ahead of the vote. Afterward, he said on Twitter that “President Trump was, without question, a driving force in the catastrophic events that took place on January 6 by encouraging masses of rioters to incite violence on elected officials, staff members, and our representative democracy as a whole,” adding that he wished the impeachment was not a “rushed political stunt.”
Valadao, a dairy farmer, represents a swing district. He was first elected to the House in 2012, but in 2018, Democrat T.J. Cox was elected. In 2020, Valadao defeated Cox and reclaimed the seat by 1,522 votes.
