2nd Trump Impeachment: How Colorado's House Delegation Voted

U.S. representatives from Colorado split along party lines on 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.

Two of Colorado's U.S. representatives, Democrats Joe Neguse and Diana DeGette, are serving as impeachment managers.

"The President betrayed his oath," Neguse said in a tweet posted Wednesday morning. "He violated the constitution. He must be impeached."

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Here’s how our Colorado delegation voted on the impeachment:

• Rep. Doug Lamborn, Republican: No
• Rep. Lauren Boebert, Republican: No
• Rep. Ken Buck, Republican: No
• Rep. Diana DeGette, Democrat: Yes
• Rep. Joe Neguse, Democrat: Yes
• Rep. Jason Crow, Democrat: Yes
• Rep. Ed Perlmutter, Democrat: Yes

What's Next: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky reportedly may allow the Senate to vote to convict Trump, an extraordinary turn by the 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 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 Colorado, 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.

Colorado law enforcement and government agencies are monitoring local protest planning efforts.

Colorado State Patrol, which guards our Capitol, said it is ramping up security.

"We have been monitoring events on the national level and will continue to monitor for possible events in Colorado," the agency said in a statement.

At least two Denver protests have been organized, police said.

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