As the second impeachment of President Trump heads to the Senate, some republicans who broke away from the GOP in favor of the resolution are facing heat from their local – and federal – counterparts. Earlier this week, Mitch McConnell accused President Trump “and other powerful people” of provoking “insurrectionists” at the Capitol on January […]
As the second impeachment of President Trump heads to the Senate, some republicans who broke away from the GOP in favor of the resolution are facing heat from their local - and federal - counterparts.
Earlier this week, Mitch McConnell accused President Trump “and other powerful people” of provoking “insurrectionists” at the Capitol on January 6.
But he’s not the only one turning his back on Trump.
Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, John Katko of New York, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Peter Meijer of Michigan, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Tom Rice of South Carolina, Fred Upton of Michigan and David Valado of California voted to impeach, NPR reports.
With all major political decisions come risks. Those members were just willing to take them.
Rep. Cheney is facing a ton of backlash from the Wyoming Republican Party and her congressional colleagues.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus started a petition Wednesday calling for Cheney’s resignation. The petition states Cheney’s position “has brought the Conference into disrepute and produced discord.”
These members include the chairman, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, as well as Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Matt Gaetz of Florida.
The Wyoming GOP issued a statement early Thursday blasting Cheney. The party said: “our telephone has not stopped ringing, our email is filling up, and our website has seen more traffic than at any previous time” in regards to her decision.
The organization added: “We as a Party respect our elected officials and assume that they will respect and represent their constituents. We are receiving the message loud and clear that what happened yesterday is a true travesty for Wyoming and the country.”
Cheney will also face a primary challenge in 2022 after voting to impeach Trump.
Wyoming state Sen. Anthony Bouchard announced on Wednesday that he will challenge Cheney for Wyoming’s lone House seat, saying that his campaign was spurred by his opponent’s “long-time opposition to President Trump and her most recent vote for impeachment,” The Hill reports.
However, Cheney has ignored all calls to step down, saying she’s not going anywhere.
Katko and Rice also took heat from their state’s conservative groups.
The Conservative Party of New York said the organization was “very disappointed” in Katko’s vote.
“We consider his action ill-informed. It will do nothing to end the national divide and will likely further aggravate it,” they said in a tweet.
South Carolina GOP Chairman Drew McKissick slammed Rep. Rice for his support.
“Democrats have been looking for any excuse to get rid of President Trump ever since he set foot in the Oval Office,” he said in a statement. “We completely disagree with this sham and to say I’m severely disappointed in Congressman Tom Rice would be an understatement.”
