2nd Trump Impeachment: How Did IL Reps Vote?

ILLINOIS — President Donald Trump was impeached Wednesday afternoon by the U.S. House of Representatives on a charge that he incited the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week, a measure largely supported by Illinois' Congressional delegation. The bipartisan measure passed 231-197, with 10 Republicans voting yes and four not voting, making Trump the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.

The historic House vote took place a week after a pro-Trump mob assaulted the U.S. Capitol, breaking windows, ransacking offices and bludgeoning a police officer to death. A sprawling FBI investigation has led to multiple arrests, including those of several Illinoisans.

The impeachment comes a week before President-elect Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated in a city on high alert amid ongoing threats of violence.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, the sole Illinois Republican to vote for impeachment, said the country is in "uncharted waters" in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

"There is no doubt in my mind that the President of the United States broke his oath of office and incited this insurrection," Kinzinger said "He used his position in the Executive to attack the Legislative. So in assessing the articles of impeachment brought before the House, I must consider: if these actions — the Article II branch inciting a deadly insurrection against the Article I branch — are not worthy of impeachment, then what is an impeachable offense?"

Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, speaking in support of impeachment before the House Wednesday afternoon, said his parents brought him to the United States as an infant because it was the land of democracy and a beacon of hope for the world.

"When Donald Trump told rioters to go to the Capitol and quote-unquote 'fight like hell,' he incited an attack on the Capitol and the ideals comprising the American dream," Krishnamoorthi said. "I'm voting for impeachment because I know we're still the country my parents believed in. And I will fight like hell for it."

Freshman Congresswoman Marie Newman, meanwhile, said she remains in disbelief after the attack on the Capitol and has not only called for President Trump to be impeached but for Republican members of Congress to be expelled for sedition after they encouraged the president's attempts to overturn the results of the election.

"Let me be crystal clear — yesterday's attack was the direct result of the dangerous, inciteful rhetoric that Donald Trump and Republican members of the House and Senate have been spewing for months," Newman said last week.

Here’s how all of Illinois' representatives voted on impeachment:

• Rep Bobby Rush, Democrat-Chicago: Yes
• Robin Kelly, Democrat-Matteson: Yes
• Marie Newman, Democrat-Western Springs: Yes
• Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, Democrat-Chicago: Yes
• Mike Quigley, Democrat-Chicago: Yes
• Sean Casten, Democrat-Downers Grove: Yes
• Danny K. Davis, Democrat-Chicago: Yes
• Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democrat-Schaumburg: Yes
• Jan Schakowsky, Democrat-Evanston: Yes
• Brad Schneider, Democrat-Deerfield: Yes
• Bill Foster, Democrat-Naperville: Yes
• Mike Bost, Republican-Murphysboro: No
• Rodney L. Davis, Republican-Taylorville: No
• Lauren Underwood, Democrat-Crystal Lake: Yes
• Mary Miller, Republican-Collinsville: No
• Adam Kinzinger, Republican-Channnahon: Yes
• Cheri Bustos, Democrat-East Moline: Yes
• Darin LaHood, Republican-Dunlap: No

Last week, as rioters ran amok in the halls of Congress and elected officials hid in barricaded offices, Trump watched the violence unfold on television, according to the Washington Post — refusing to send in the National Guard and waiting hours before begrudgingly asking his supporters to go home in a now-deleted tweet that seemed to glorify the insurrection.

Nonetheless, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky reportedly will not allow the Senate to vote on the impeachment until after Trump leaves office and hasn't yet made up his mind whether he will vote to convict Trump of the charges. If he does vote to convict, that would be an extraordinary turn by the Republican leader who has defended and protected Trump during the four tumultuous years of his presidency.

"While the press has been full of speculation, I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate," McConnell said Wednesday in an email to Senate Republicans, according to the Washington Post.

McConnell has reportedly said he believes Trump committed impeachable offenses, and that moving forward with a vote would make it easier for Republicans to purge Trumpism from their party, but a Senate impeachment trial likely won't take place until after Biden is inaugurated and Democrats take control of the chamber.

Biden has suggested the new Democratic Senate could “bifurcate” its duties — that is, spend half of the day confirming his Cabinet nominees and the other half on impeachment matters.

Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking member of the House Republican leadership, was among the 10 Republicans to break from their party and vote to impeach Trump.

"There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution," Cheney said in a statement Tuesday.

Two-thirds of the Senate would have to vote to convict Trump. While he may already be out of office by that point, a conviction in the Senate would prevent him from holding federal office again and strip him of perks afforded to former presidents.

The Senate failed to convict Trump last year on charges of abuse of power and contempt of Congress after the president was accused of threatening to withhold military aid to Ukraine in exchange for that country launching an unfounded investigation into his likely 2020 opponent, Joe Biden.

As lawmakers debated the need for and grave potential consequence of impeaching Trump for a second time, the FBI warned of potential violence in the days ahead of Biden’s inauguration. The Illinois Capitol and statehouses in all 50 states have been targeted for armed protests, and the agency is monitoring chatter on an encrypted messaging platform about plans by Trump extremists to form perimeters around the Capitol, the White House and the Supreme Court building as Biden takes the oath of office.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, at a news conference Monday, refused to comment on specific security measures being taken in Springfield but said the state police are "well aware of the challenges that may crop up."

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