2nd Trump Impeachment: How Rep. Jeff Van Drew Voted

SOUTH JERSEY — U.S. representatives from New Jersey voted to impeach President Donald Trump on a charge that he incited the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week.

The final House vote was 232-197 in favor of impeachment.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican who represents New Jersey's 2nd District, voted against impeachment for the second time. Van Drew spoke Wednesday at about 1:10 p.m. on the floor of the House of Representatives.

“We’ve been here before. We’ve done this before. This has failed before. We’ve fractured our nation using the same process before," Van Drew said. "Congress must be the glue that starts unifying everyone. By the time this process would conclude, the man they want out of office will no longer even be the president."

The historic House action 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 capital city on high alert amid ongoing threats of violence.

Last Wednesday's mayhem overwhelmed Capitol Police, who evacuated members of Congress as violence escalated. The legislators were meeting to accept the electoral college results certifying Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election. All told, five people died in the insurrection, including Capitol Hill Police Officer and New Jersey native Brian Sicknick who died from injuries sustained engaging with protesters.

So far, the FBI has charged 18 of the rioters with felonies in an investigation that could become one of the largest ever undertaken by the agency. About 40 others have been charged in state and local jurisdictions. About 120 people have been either arrested or identified as riot participants through photos and videos, The Hill reported. An AP analysis of social media posts, voter registrations and court files show most are known longtime Trump supporters.

The next stage of the impeachment would be a trial in the Senate. As the upper chamber is not in session, it will most likely begin during Biden's inauguration week.

To be removed from office, Trump would need to be convicted by the Senate. If that occurs, the Senate could also vote to make him ineligible to run for office again. Read More On Patch: The Latest On Impeachment As More Violence, Assassinations Threatened

At least five House Republicans, including Liz Cheney of Wyoming, had planned to vote in favor of impeachment before Wednesday’s proceedings began, according to reports from CNN and others.
Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, said Trump “summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of the attack.”

“Everything that followed was his doing,” she said. “None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not."

Rep. Jason Smith, a Republican from Missouri, however, called this a “reckless impeachment,” while speaking from the House Floor Wednesday morning. He argues this will only serve to divide Americans even more.

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted in favor of a resolution asking Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and assume the duties of the president in the final week before President-elect Joe Biden takes office Jan. 20. But Pence, in a letter addressed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said he would not invoke the 25th Amendment.

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