2nd Trump Impeachment: How Rep. Andy Kim Voted

TOMS RIVER, NJ — U.S. Representative Andy Kim on Wednesday voted to impeach President Donald Trump on a charge that he incited the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week. The House voted 232 to 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 vote comes a week before President-elect Joe Biden is to be inaugurated in a city on high alert amid ongoing threats of violence.

Kim, who represents New Jersey's 3rd District, which includes parts of Ocean and Burlington counties, also voted yes on Tuesday on a resolution asking Vice President Mike Pence invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

Kim on Wednesday released a statement explaining his decision to vote in favor of an impeachment.

“After my vote today, I will go home and explain to my two boys why it was important to impeach the president," Kim said in the statement. "It’s a conversation that parents across the country are having right now with their kids; explaining that when someone does something wrong and they violate their oath, there are consequences. It’s a conversation that reminds them that nobody, not even the President of the United States, is above the law. And it’s a conversation that reminds them that our country — the same one that gave their grandparents and parents a chance at a good life — is something worth protecting.

"The events of last week have shaken our nation to the core. It is a moment that will define this era and sets a course on the future of this country. We can choose to act and make it clear for future generations that the actions of the President and his supporters will not be tolerated, or we can allow inaction to speak volumes. I have to look my kids in the eye, and my constituents in the eye, and explain that choice. For that, I will always choose standing up for the integrity of the Republic we serve and the protection of the country we call home.”

What's Next: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will not allow the Senate to vote to convict Trump while the Republicans control the majority. The Democrats are set to take control of the Senate by the end of the month.

• 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 said Wednesday he intends to “listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate.”
• McConnell staff said he will defer to New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, who will become the new majority leader, to manage the process.

• 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, including in New Jersey, 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.

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