Two House Republicans from Washington vote to impeach Trump

Washington state had two Republicans vote to impeach President Donald Trump for “inciting” the deadly riot at the United States Capitol last week.

“This is a sad day. This is the second time Donald Trump has been impeached — first time in history that a president has been impeached twice. And this time, of course, with the biggest bipartisan vote in the history of any impeachment of this country,” said Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Seattle.

Ten Grand Old Party House members broke ranks and sided with the Democratic majority. Two of them are from Washington state: Jaime Herrera Beutler from southwest Washington and Dan Newhouse from central Washington.

“These articles of impeachment are flawed. But I will not use process as an excuse. There’s no excuse for President Trump’s actions,” said Newhouse on the House floor.

“My decision to impeach our sitting president is not a fear-based decision. I am not choosing a side. I am choosing truth. It’s the only way to defeat fear,” said Beutler.

Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers was the only member from Washington’s congressional delegation to vote no. In a statement, she also said, “Make no mistake: What happened last week at the U.S. Capitol was unlawful and unacceptable. President Trump showed a complete lack of leadership in the face of an attack on the U.S. government. We must do better.”

“I am grateful to those 10 Republicans, including Dan Newhouse and Jamie Herrera Beutler from our state, for recognizing they had to put country over party,” Jayapal added.

KIRO 7 asked Jayapal to respond to criticisms that an impeachment vote could delay a peaceful transfer of power.

“When you have what happened on Jan. 6 and the continuing security threat, I would add, to this country as long as this president is in office,” answered Jayapal. “It is essential that the Senate vote to convict and then, once voting to convict, they can also make sure that Donald Trump is never able to hold office again.”

Cox Media Group