Politics & Government

2nd Trump Impeachment: How Minnesota’s House Delegation Voted

Minnesota's representatives in Congress were evenly split on President Donald Trump's historic second impeachment.

In this image from video, Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 23, 2020.
In this image from video, Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 23, 2020. (House Television via AP)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. representatives from Minnesota split on impeaching President Donald Trump on a charge that he incited the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week. The House voted in favor 232-197, making Trump the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.

Ten Republicans voted along with all Democrats to impeach Trump.

The historic House vote took place a week after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a siege that resulted in five deaths — including the beating death of a Capitol Police officer, multiple arrests, and a sprawling FBI investigation. The impeachment comes a week before President-elect Joe Biden is to be inaugurated in a city on high alert amid ongoing threats of violence.

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"I just voted against impeachment. With fewer than seven days remaining in this administration, we should be focused on moving forward and getting back to work on behalf of the American people," first-term Republican Rep. Michelle Fischbach said in a statement.

"It's a solemn day. Without accountability, there can be no unity," said Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips.

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Here’s how Minnesota's delegation voted on the impeachment:

Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar — Yes
Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips — YES
Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum — YES
Democratic Rep. Angie Craig — YES

Republican Rep. Jim Hagedorn — NO
Republican Rep. Tom Emmer — NO
Republican Rep. Michelle Fischbach — NO
Republican Rep. Pete Stauber — NO

What's Next: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will not allow the Senate to vote to convict Trump — which would have been an extraordinary turn by a Republican leader who has defended and protected Trump during the four years of his tumultuous presidency.

  • If an impeachment trial is allowed in the Senate, it will be after Biden is inaugurated, McConnell said Wednesday. 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 he won’t reconvene the Senate ahead of Biden’s inauguration.
  • Biden has suggested the Senate could “bifurcate” — 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, is among more than two dozen Republicans who signaled they would 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," she said in a statement Tuesday.

Trial In The Senate: Two-thirds of the chamber would have to vote to convict Trump. The Senate exonerated Trump last year on charges of abuse of power and contempt of Congress after special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, but the charge against Trump this time is more clear-cut.

Under the Constitution, the Senate could prevent him from holding federal office again and strip him of other perks afforded to former presidents.

As lawmakers debated the need for and grave potential consequence of impeaching Trump for a second time, the FBI warned of armed protests in the days ahead of Biden’s inauguration.

Statehouses in all 50 states have been targeted for protests.

The agency is also 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.

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