Rep. Vern Buchanan votes against impeaching President Donald Trump a second time
Joining most other House Republicans, Rep. Vern Buchanan voted against impeaching President Donald Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Trump became the first president to be impeached twice after Democrats and some Republicans said he was responsible for a deadly riot at the Capitol that left at least five people dead. Buchanan also voted against Trump’s impeachment in December 2019, when the president was accused of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, did not participate in the House’s hours-long impeachment debate Wednesday afternoon but in a statement posted to Twitter Wednesday afternoon, Buchanan explained his vote.
“Today I voted against the impeachment of President Trump because the rushed effort to remove a president from office six days before he leaves office is divisive and misguided,” the statement said. “Congress should be focused on helping people get the COVID vaccine and on efforts to reopen the economy and our schools.”
“Nancy Pelosi’s unprecedented decision to launch a second partisan impeachment in 13 months sets a dangerous precedent and further polarizes an already divided country,” Buchanan’s statement continued.
Buchanan’s comments echo what he said earlier this week when he argued that impeaching Trump wouldn’t help to “calm the waters” in a divided nation.
Articles of impeachment were introduced Tuesday night, charging Trump with incitement of insurrection. Lawmakers claimed that Trump had directed a mob of hundreds of supporters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6 as Congress certified President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory.
The House is expected to vote mostly along party lines to impeach Trump. The Senate will conduct an impeachment trial at a later date, likely after Trump’s term expires on Jan. 20.
