FL Members Of Congress Vote In 2nd Trump Impeachment

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — U.S. representatives from Florida voted along party lines on the question of impeaching President Donald Trump on a charge that he incited the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week. The House voted 232-197 in favor, making Trump the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.

The historic House vote took place a week after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a siege that resulted in five deaths — including the beating death of a Capitol Police officer, multiple arrests and a sprawling FBI investigation. The impeachment comes a week before President-elect Joe Biden is to be inaugurated in a city on high alert amid ongoing threats of violence.

“President Trump is a clear and present danger to American lives and democracy, and leaves us no choice but to remove him from office," Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida said at the Capitol on Wednesday afternoon.

Congressman Charlie Crist, a Democrat, posted a statement on his Twitter account before the House voted on impeachment. "History will forever mark the day a sitting United States president incited an armed mob to attack the U.S. Congress ceremonially certifying the will of the American people in a free and fair presidential election."

Here is how Florida representatives voted on the impeachment:

• Rep. Gus Bilirakis, a Republican, voted No
• Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Republican, voted No
• Rep. Kat Cammack, a Republican, voted No
• Rep. Kathy Castor, a Democrat, voted Yes
• Rep. Charlie Crist, a Democrat, voted Yes
• Rep. Val Butler Demings, a Democrat, voted Yes
• Rep. Theodore Deutch, a Democrat, voted Yes
• Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican, voted No
• Rep. Neal P. Dunn, a Republican, voted No
• Rep. Lois Frankel, a Democrat, voted Yes
• Rep. C. Scott Franklin, a Republican, voted No
• Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican, voted No
• Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez, a Republican, voted No
• Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, a Democrat, voted Yes
• Rep. Al Lawson, Jr., a Democrat, voted Yes
• Rep. Brian J. Mast, a Republican, voted No
• Rep. Stephanie N. Murphy, a Democrat, voted Yes
• Rep. Bill Posey, a Republican, voted No
• Rep. John H. Rutherford, a Republican, voted No
• Rep. Darren Soto, a Democrat, voted Yes
• Rep. W. Gregory Steube, a Republican, voted No
• Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat, voted Yes
• Rep. Daniel Webster, a Republican, did not vote
• Rep. Frederica S. Wilson, a Democrat, voted Yes

What's Next: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will not allow the Senate to vote to convict Trump — which would have been an extraordinary turn by a Republican leader who has defended and protected Trump during the four years of his tumultuous presidency.

• If an impeachment trial is allowed in the Senate, it will be after Biden is inaugurated, McConnell said Wednesday. McConnell has reportedly said he believes Trump committed impeachable offenses, and that moving forward with a vote would make it easier for Republicans to purge Trumpism from their party, but he won’t reconvene the Senate ahead of Biden’s inauguration.
• "While the press has been full of speculation, I have not made a final decision on how I will vote, and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate," McConnell said.

• Biden has suggested the Senate could “bifurcate” — that is spend half of the day confirming his Cabinet nominees and the other half on impeachment matters.

• Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking member of the House Republican leadership, is among more than two dozen Republicans who signaled they would break from their party and vote to impeach Trump.

• "There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution," she said in a statement Tuesday.

Trial In The Senate: Two-thirds of the chamber would have to vote to convict Trump. The Senate exonerated Trump last year on charges of abuse of power and contempt of Congress after special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, but the charge against Trump this time is more clear-cut.

Under the Constitution, the Senate could prevent him from holding federal office again and strip him of other perks afforded to former presidents.

As lawmakers debated the need for and grave potential consequence of impeaching Trump for a second time, the FBI warned of armed protests in the days ahead of Biden’s inauguration. Statehouses in all 50 states have been targeted for protests. The agency is also monitoring chatter on an encrypted messaging platform about plans by Trump extremists to form perimeters around the Capitol, the White House and the Supreme Court building as Biden takes the oath of office.

In Florida, local law enforcement agencies are on high alert amid FBI warnings of possible violence at state Capitols as Inauguration Day approaches, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Leon County Sheriff's Office and Tallahassee police are preparing for the likeliness of storming protests at the state Capitol on Sunday.

“We always take these types of reports seriously and are working with our local, state and federal partners to assure we are prepared to deal with any issue that may arise,” Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell told the news outlet.

An online flyer that has rallied for these armed protests in December to take place has been shared across the internet. The flyer said, "When Democracy Is Destroyed, Refuse To Be Silenced. Armed March On Capitol Hill & All State Capitals. *Come armed at your personal discretion."

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