US House votes to impeach Trump again. One SC Republican crossed party lines
One week after pro-Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol building, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump for incitement of an insurrection.
While Trump’s first impeachment split South Carolina’s delegation down party lines, the group’s sole Democrat, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, was joined by U.S. Rep. Tom Rice of Myrtle Beach, both voting in favor of impeaching the president the second time.
Republican U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace, Joe Wilson, Jeff Duncan, William Timmons and Ralph Norman voted against impeachment Wednesday.
The final vote in the House was 232 to 197 in favor of impeaching Trump. Four Republicans did not cast votes.
Rice’s vote came as a surprise. Just days before, the Myrtle Beach Republican told a local TV station, WBTW, that he did not support impeaching the president because he only had days left in his term.
Rice was also among a group of Republicans who voted last week after the riot at the Capitol in favor of objections to the electoral vote certifications in Arizona and Pennsylvania, swing states that went for President-elect Joe Biden.
In a statement released about an hour after his vote, Rice said he wasn’t sure if the president’s speech to supporters before the Capitol breach “amounted to an incitement of a riot, but any reasonable person could see the potential for violence.”
“I have backed this President through thick and thin for four years. I campaigned for him and voted for him twice. But, this utter failure is inexcusable,” Rice said.
Rice also criticized the president for watching the riot on TV as members of Congress were being locked down, and tweeting “about the Vice President’s lack of courage.”
“For hours while the riot continued, the President communicated only on Twitter and offered only weak requests for restraint,” Rice said in the statement.
Trump’s actions after the riot were also insufficient, Rice said, adding that the president did not address the nation and ask for peace, visit those injured in the riot or offer condolences for those who died. Instead, Trump said during a press conference that his comments to his supporters before the riot were “totally appropriate.”
One article of impeachment was filed in the House Monday, accusing Trump of incitement of an insurrection for his alleged role in inspiring a group of rioters to overtake the Capitol building. The article’s authors accuse Trump of repeatedly claiming falsely that the election was rife with voter fraud, which swung it in favor of Biden. The article also points to Trump’s words Jan. 6 ahead of the riot.
That day, Trump spoke to a horde of supporters at the “Save America March in Washington” just outside of the Capitol building. There, Trump told people he would “never concede” the election and urged them to march on the Capitol.
On the House floor Wednesday, Democrats argued that Trump’s words and actions radicalized his supporters, and his actions were impeachable.
Republicans against the impeachment, meanwhile, argued that impeaching Trump for a second time would just cause further political rifts in the country. They also criticized Democrats for not holding investigatory hearings ahead of the vote.
Several House Republicans were against impeachment.
Ten Republicans, including former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter Rep. Liz Cheney, voted to impeach the president for his role in the riot. Cheney, a staunch conservative, announced her intention to vote for impeachment Tuesday, saying Trump “summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack.”
“Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President,” Cheney said Tuesday.
South Carolinians sound off
Among those who debated impeachment Wednesday was South Carolina’s freshman representative, Mace, R-Daniel Island, who spoke during the first debate on the House floor against the process. It was her first floor speech since being sworn in.
Mace accused Democrats of “rushing the impeachment,” only allowing a few hours of debate and not holding any hearings in the Judiciary Committee. She questioned the “constitutionality of this process.”
“Today, I’m asking my colleagues to remember the words of the legendary, the great leader in this country, Martin Luther King, who once said, ‘The time is always ripe to do what is right,’ ” Mace said.
Mace said to heal divisions in the country, members of both parties “need to acknowledge that this isn’t the first day of violence we’ve seen,” referring to Black Lives Matter protests that rocked the nation over the summer. Mace said there was “violence on both sides of the aisle.”
However, Mace called for the president and members of Congress whose rhetoric contributed to Wednesday’s riot to be held accountable. During an interview with PBS after debate adjourned, she made clear that she believed Trump was guilty.
“I believe we need to hold (the president) accountable for the events that transpired, for the attack on our capitol last Wednesday,” Mace said.
During the PBS interview, Mace said something should be done to make sure Trump cannot hold office again.
During the second two-hour debate, Clyburn was given time to speak on behalf of his Democratic colleagues.
Clyburn, a Columbia Democrat, said the survival of democracy depends on the peaceful transition of power and that losing candidates accept defeat gracefully. Trump did not follow those guidelines, he added.
“While the president failed in his attempt to upend our democracy, last Wednesday’s events make clear that if we do not hold him accountable and remove him from power, a future attempt could very well be successful,” Clyburn said.
“This president’s refusal to participate in the peaceful transfer of power and his role in the inciting of last week’s violence pose an existential threat to our constitutional democracy,” he added. “This threat must be extinguished immediately. This president must be impeached and evicted and he must be prevented from ever attempting to seize power again.”
In brief remarks from the floor, Norman, of Rock Hill, voiced his “strong opposition for the impeachment of this president with seven days left.” He went on to admonish Democrats who supported the movement to defund the police but voiced support of Capitol Police, calling it the “height of hypocrisy.”
Other members of South Carolina’s delegation did not get a chance to speak on the floor during either part of the debate. Instead, they sounded off on social media and issued statements as the day went on.
Ahead of the second debate, Timmons, of Greenville, said in a statement that the House “should avoid actions that further divide and inflame the passions of the moment,” vowing to vote against impeachment.
After voting against impeachment, Duncan issued a statement accusing Democrats of making impeachment their primary goal since Trump was elected to office. Duncan also criticized the speed of the process.
“This rushed, political stunt made a mockery of what the impeachment process should be — solemn and methodical,” Duncan said in a statement. “There were no hearings, no witness statements, and no evidence presented to Members of Congress.”
Wilson said leadership “should not divide our country, but instead unite it.”
“President Donald Trump has agreed to a peaceful transition of power and impeaching a president so close to a new administration impedes that process and only serves to further divide our country,” Wilson said in a statement.
Though he was not voting on impeachment Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-Seneca, issued a statement condemning the effort as House members cast votes.
“Supporting the impeachment of President Trump under these circumstances will do great damage to the institutions of government and could invite further violence at a time the President is calling for calm,” Graham said in a statement. “If there was a time for America’s political leaders to bend a knee and ask for God’s counsel and guidance, it is now. The most important thing for leaders to do in times of crisis is to make things better, not worse.”
Graham criticized the speed at which the impeachment was happening, calling it “an affront to any concept of due process.”
“The House impeachment process seeks to legitimize a snap impeachment totally void of due process. No hearings. No witnesses,” Graham said in a statement. “It is a rushed process that, over time, will become a threat to future presidents.”
What comes next?
After the House’s vote to impeach, the articles get sent to the Senate, where Trump will face hearings similar to a trial.
With just a week left in Trump’s term, Democratic leaders warned that Senate hearings will likely not take place until after Biden’s inauguration.
Over the weekend, Clyburn, the House majority whip, told CNN that it may be weeks until articles of impeachment get sent to the Senate. Clyburn said the House could delay sending them until after Biden’s first 100 days in office so as not to slow the new president’s COVID-19 relief efforts.
Unlike during Trump’s last impeachment, the Senate will be controlled by Democrats this time. After hearings, senators would traditionally vote on whether to remove Trump from office, but since he will likely already be out of office, senators could next take up a vote that could prevent him from ever running for public office again.
How they voted:
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-Daniel Island: Against impeachment
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-Springfield: Against impeachment
U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-Laurens: Against impeachment
U.S. Rep. William Timmons, R-Greenville: Against impeachment
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill: Against impeachment
U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-Columbia: In favor of impeachment
U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, R-Myrtle Beach: In favor of impeachment
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 4:54 PM with the headline "US House votes to impeach Trump again. One SC Republican crossed party lines."
