On Wednesday, Donald Trump became the first American President to be impeached twice. The fact that he was impeached twice in the span of a single term, makes this a potentially unbeatable record, not that any president should aspire to get impeached.
The House voted 232-197 to impeach President Trump, with as many as 10 Republican voting in favor. After the votes were case, Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed the House and said, “Today, in a bi-partisan way the House demonstrated that no one is above the law, not even the President of the United States; that Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our country and that once again we honor the oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Pelosi then signed the Articles of Impeachment.
US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnel then issued a statement saying that it was unlikely that the impeachment trial could be conducted before the Biden-Harris administration was sworn in. He tweeted his full statement:
The ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump were:
• Rep. Gonzalez (OH) • Rep. Meijer (MI) • Rep. Upton (MI) • Rep. Cheney (WY) • Rep. Katko (NY) • Rep. Kinzinger (IL) • Rep. Rice (SC) • Rep. Herrera Beutler (WA) • Rep. Newhouse (WA) • Rep. Valadao (CA)
In fact, Tom Rice tweeted, “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.”
Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden tweeted, “Today, in a bipartisan vote, the House voted to impeach and hold President Trump accountable. Now, the process continues to the Senate—and I hope they’ll deal with their Constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of this nation.”
Others too joined in the chorus, as reactions to the second impeachment flew in thick and fast.