On Wednesday night, the U.S. House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, making him the third president in history to be impeached joining Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.
Congress voted 230-197 for the first article of impeachment alleging President Trump abused his power by requesting that the government of Ukraine investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and potential Ukrainian interference in the 2016 presidential election allegedly in exchange for a White House visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the release of $391 million in military aid.Â
Democratic U.S. Reps. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and Collin Peterson of Minnesota joined Republicans voting no. U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, the only Democratic presidential candidate who did not support impeachment, voted present saying she couldn’t vote no because she believed he was guilty of wrongdoing, but believed the impeachment was not the right course of action and favored censuring the president instead.
Congress voted 229 to 198 for the second article of impeachment that accused the president of obstructing Congress due to instructing officials in his administration not to cooperate with the House impeachment inquiry.
Van Drew and Petersen were joined by U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, as the only Democrats to vote against that article of impeachment. Gabbard also voted present for the second article.
The Senate trial is expected to begin in early January. It is unlikely that President Trump will be convicted as it takes a two-thirds majority to convict.
Iowa’s Democratic U.S. Reps. Abby Finkenauer, David Loebsack, and Cindy Axne all voted in favor of both articles of impeachment. U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, voted against.
Iowa Republicans sounded off in opposition to the impeachment vote.
“Today, House Democrats concluded their sham impeachment proceedings against President Trump. Thankfully real leaders like Senator Grassley and Senator Ernst will stand in the gap when this circus gets to the U.S. Senate,” State Senator Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, said.
Feenstra, who is running for Congress in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District challenging U.S. Rep. Steve King for the Republican nomination blasted King.
“Sadly, due to Congressman King’s bizarre behavior and subsequent removal from the House Judiciary Committee, Iowa Republicans lost our voice in the process leading up to today. The 4th District deserves an effective conservative leader who will focus on getting conservative results for Iowa,” he said.
Former Republican U.S. Rep. David Young who is running in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District to win back the seat he lost to Axne said the incumbent congresswoman doesn’t trust voters.
“Impeachment is serious. The Constitution sets a high bar to impeach the President: treason, bribery, high crimes and misdemeanors. Yet Cindy and Pelosi and Schiff and Nadler and the rest of the partisan progressive Democrats canât name one crime which President Trump allegedly violated,” he said in a email to supporters.
“This impeachment is a rushed, unfair, and partisan sham. It was rigged from the start. Cindy doesnât trust you. Instead of allowing American citizens to determine who should sit in the Oval office – Cindy says she knows better than you,” Young stated.
“President Trump was fairly and duly elected by the majority of Iowans. But that doesnât matter to Cindy Axne. She just voted to overturn the vote of good people like you and your co-workers, neighbors, and relatives,” he added.
Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor, who is also challenging King for the Republican nomination in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District blasted the impeachment vote.
“Nancy Pelosi’s reckless, partisan impeachment is a travesty and an outrage. The last thing she needs is yet another rubber-stamp Democrat by her side like J.D. Scholten. As we have seen today, the stakes have never been higher. We must defeat J.D. Scholten next fall,” he said.
State Senator Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Ottumwa, who is running for the Republican nomination in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District also criticized the vote and the presumptive Democratic nominee, Rita Hart, who said she supports impeachment.
âWith todayâs vote, House Democrats have cemented themselves in the history books as choosing to divide this country rather than bring Americans together,â she said. âAnd after months of hiding from the press, Democrat Rita Hart has now stated she supports the sham process of impeachment. At least now voters in the 2nd District know where she stands. But the fact is, voters are tired of the impeachment drama and want to move on. After today, impeachment will move to the Senate, where after a fair and transparent process, hopefully senators will move swiftly to acquit the president and allow Congress to get back to work.â
King, who spoke in defense of President Trump during the House debate, released a statement after the vote.
âFor three years, sore loser Democrats have feverishly attempted to undo election results that they have never accepted, and these sham impeachment articles represent the futile culmination of the far-leftâs impotent frustration and rage,â King said. âLeftist Democrats and Never-Trumpers created a Resistance movement to thwart President Trump at every turn, and they have turned Constitutional protections like due process inside-out and upside-down in their quest to remove our remarkably successful President from office. The simple fact of the matter is this: Democrats realize that they canât beat the President in 2020, and theyâve decided to use the impeachment process as a campaign weapon against him. The people of Iowa see through the Democratsâ cynical ploy. Iowans support this President and the great work he is doing for our country, they want their votes for President Trump respected, and they understand that adherence to our Constitution means rejecting the impeachment of a duly-elected President on such baseless, politically motivated charges.â
Read the impeachment articles below:
