President Donald Trump is now
the first Commander in Chief to get impeached twice during his time in office.
It was an
unprecedented moment in American history
as 10 Republicans joined every Democrat in the House in the most bipartisan
impeachment vote ever.
Every New York representative voted with their party
on impeachment except for a Republican from
Syracuse, John Katko (NY-24). "To allow
the President of the United States to incite this attack without consequences
is a direct threat to the future of this democracy," says Rep. Katko.
President Trump is charged with "incitement of insurrection"
one week after he's accused of using lies to start a riot at Capitol Hill where
five people died.
At the end of 2019, the House
first impeached the president, but no
Republicans voted in favor. The Senate voted to acquit in early 2020 over
Trump's dealings with Ukraine.
Hudson Valley Congressman
Mondaire Jones (D-17th) talked to News 12 about his vote to impeach. "We
have to make sure that we are holding our elected officials accountable and
that those elected officials are honoring their constitutional duty."
So now
the impeachment moves to a Senate trial, which will
not begin until the day before President-elect Joe Biden is in office. "My
hope is that the Republican members in the United States Senate similarly will
feel bound to honor their oath of office and to convict this dangerous,
unhinged, lawless president,” says Rep. Jones.
Jones adds that conviction will require
two-thirds of the evenly split Senate to convict. "If not convicted and
then banned from running for federal office, moving forward. [He] will continue
to pose a threat to our democracy."
The question remains whether a trial in the soon-to-be Democrat-controlled Senate could delay Biden's cabinet confirmations, COVID-relief, or vaccination rollout in the early days of his presidency. "Biden will come in and will have to deal with a crisis unlike other presidents in the past that come in and they sort of, you know, they start implementing their agenda," says George Picoulas, Pace University political science professor.