PORTLAND, Ore. — Republican U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who represents Southwest Washington, said she will vote to impeach President Donald Trump after last week’s deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
“The President of the United States incited a riot aiming to halt the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next,” Herrera Beutler said, in part, in a statement Tuesday night.
Herrera Beutler, who has represented Washington’s 3rd District since 2011, joins a handful of GOP representatives to publicly say they will vote to impeach the president.
Vice President Mike Pence said he would not invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives has pressed forward on impeaching President Trump for a second time.
Trump faces an "incitement of insurrection" charge. A vote on impeachment is reportedly expected Wednesday.
Read Herrera Beutler’s full statement below.
“The President of the United States incited a riot aiming to halt the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next. That riot led to five deaths. People everywhere watched in disbelief as the center of American democracy was assaulted. The violent mob bludgeoned to death a Capitol police officer as they defaced symbols of our freedom. These terrorists roamed the Capitol, hunting the Vice President and the Speaker of the House.
“Hours went by before the President did anything meaningful to stop the attack. Instead, he and his lawyer were busy making calls to senators who were still in lockdown, seeking their support to further delay the Electoral College certification. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy describes pleading with the President to go on television and call for an end to the mayhem, to no avail. The President attacked Vice President Mike Pence on Twitter while Pence was in a secure room having fled from the mob that had breached the Senate floor threatening to hang him. Finally, the President released a pathetic denouncement of the violence that also served as a wink and a nod to those who perpetrated it: “I love you,” he said to them, “you are special." More hours of destruction and violence ensued before law enforcement officials were finally able to clear the Capitol.
“The President's offenses, in my reading of the Constitution, were impeachable based on the indisputable evidence we already have. I understand the argument that the best course is not to further inflame the country or alienate Republican voters. But I am also a Republican voter. I believe in our Constitution, individual liberty, free markets, charity, life, justice, peace and this exceptional country. I see that my own party will be best served when those among us choose truth.
“I believe President Trump acted against his oath of office, so I will vote to impeach him.”
