Rhode Island Lawmakers Respond To Trump Impeachment

PROVIDENCE — On Wednesday night, House lawmakers made history when they approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, one for abuse of power and the other for obstruction of Congress. Rhode Island's Congressmen, David Cicilline and Jim Langevin, voted in favor of both articles.

The two Rhode Island Democrats stood with their party for the vote, of whom all but two voted for the first article, and all but three voted for the second.

During the debate prior to the vote and following the formal impeachment, the congressmen and the state's senators, Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, issued statements supporting the action.

"There is no question that President Trump abused the enormous power of his office when he solicited foreign interference to help him in his re-election campaign in 2020," Cicilline said following the vote. "His conduct is a continued threat to our democracy and the national security of our country."

"The facts are undisputed, and it is therefore our duty to our country and to the Constitution to hold this lawless President accountable," Cicilline continued. "I voted tonight to impeach President Donald J. Trump. If the members of the Senate set aside partisanship and consider the evidence in this case, it will leave them with only one conclusion – President Trump must be removed from office."

During debate on the House floor, Langevin asserted his support for the impeachment, saying it was his duty to vote in favor of it.

"On this sad day for our nation, I will do what the President has so often failed to do: I will fulfill my oath to support and defend the Constitution, and I will vote in favor of impeachment," Langevin said. His full remarks can be viewed below.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, meanwhile, said he hoped his Senate colleagues will "heed the oath they will take at the beginning of the Senate trial to ‘do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws."

"The House has gathered a wealth of undisputed facts to support its articles of impeachment," he said. "Now, it is the constitutional duty of the Senate to consider these articles and the underlying evidence with all the seriousness and care the Founders intended. That means a process where the relevant evidence is aired, necessary witnesses are called forward, and cases by both sides are fully made."

Senator Jack Reed, meanwhile, called the impeachment articles "gravely serious charges," adding that it is imperative that the Senate conduct a balanced trial.

"President Trump’s unprecedented actions have forced Congress to undertake the extraordinary step of considering articles of impeachment. The United States Senate now has a constitutional duty to hold a trial and render a decision," Reed said in a statement. "In weighing these articles of impeachment, the Senate must be fair, transparent and deliberate. That should include hearing from witnesses who President Trump barred from testifying and seeing the actual documents at issue, not just the Trump Administration’s summary of his call to the President of Ukraine."

"No Senator relishes this responsibility," he went on, "but every Senator must take it seriously and with an understanding that our system of checks and balances is on trial as well."