Every Republican representative in the nation voted against both articles of impeachment Wednesday night, including all members of Minnesota’s Republican delegation.
Both articles of impeachment—abuse of power and obstruction of Congress—passed in votes of 230-197 and 229-198 with no bipartisan support for the articles.
“Today is a historic day, but not for the reason House Democrats had hoped. Today, one political party abused the Constitution to advance their own political agenda without a single vote from the other side of the aisle, and with members of their own conference joining in opposition,” Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN-06), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement.
Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN-07) was one of two Democrats to vote against the first article of impeachment and one of three Democrats to vote against the second. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI-02) was the only member of Congress to vote “present” on both articles.
“Since Speaker Pelosi first announced that she was proceeding with impeachment, she along with Chairmen Schiff and Nadler have acted in a reckless manner,” Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN-08) said in a statement. “They have operated in secret, instructed witnesses not to answer Republican questions, denied due process, and determined what type of crimes to accuse the President of by using focus groups. Despite these abuses, they have been unsuccessful in proving their case.”
“Speaker Pelosi once stated that impeachment must be compelling, overwhelming, and bipartisan. She has failed her own impeachment standard on every count. In fact, the only thing bipartisan about today’s impeachment is the opposition to it,” the first-term congressman added.
He concluded by expressing fear that “this vote has set a dangerous precedent of voting to impeach whenever one party has control in the House and the other is in the White House.”
Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-MN-01) had similar concerns and agreed that the “only thing bipartisan about this impeachment is the opposition to it.”
“The sad truth is that the Democrats’ impeachment has been overtly political throughout and is an unwarranted attempt to remove our duly elected President from office, which is why I voted ‘no,’” said Hagedorn.
Emmer said he voted against the articles because the impeachment process “devolved into a partisan persecution.”
“The American people have entrusted us to address the issues most important to the growth and success of our nation,” he concluded. “By working towards impeachment for the past three years, Democrats have ensured this House has failed them. I look forward to ending this political charade and hope we can finally return our focus to the very real and pressing issues facing our country.”
With the exception of Peterson, all members of Minnesota’s Democratic congressional delegation voted in favor of both articles.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
