2nd Trump Impeachment: How Rep. Albio Sires Voted

NEW JERSEY — Rep. Albio Sires, who represents parts of Hudson, Essex, and Union counties, was among the members of Congress who voted to impeach President Donald Trump on Wednesday. The house voted in favor of impeachment on a charge that Trump 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.

Sires said on Wednesday evening: "For his actions, I have voted to impeach President Trump for a second time. He must be held accountable for the damage he has done to our nation. He refused to disavow white supremacy and right-wing hate groups, instead telling them to stand by. Immediately before the traumatic events of January 6th, he actively incited violence, whipped up hatred, and directed a mob to the Capitol."

He Tweeted about what took place: "I could feel the vibrations as the mob pounded on the doors and walls of the House Chamber, screaming for the heads of those who sought to uphold the rule of law. I saw things I never in a million years would have expected to see in the Capitol."

He added:

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.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will not allow the Senate to vote to convict Trump — which would have been an extraordinary turn by a 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 he won’t reconvene the Senate ahead of Biden’s inauguration.

His staff said McConnell 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 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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25th Amendment vote

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday night on a resolution asking Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office.

Rep. Albio Sires voted yes on that resolution.

Sires released this statement on Wednesday: “Last night, I voted in favor of a resolution calling on the vice president to convene the cabinet and activate the 25th Amendment of the Constitution to declare the president incapable of executing his duties of office. Today, the House will be considering an article of impeachment against the President for his role in inciting violence against the government of the United States. The words and actions of the president that led to a violent mob storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 are despicable and must be addressed.”

Sires' 8th Congressional District includes Hoboken, Elizabeth, Fairview, Belleville, Bayonne, East Newark, Guttenberg, Harrison, North Bergen, Union City, Weehawken, and Harrison, and parts of Newark, Jersey City, and Kearny.

Read more: Rep. Sires Signs Resolution To Impeach

Read more: Cop Who Died After Capitol Hill Riots Was From NJ: Gov. Murphy

Here are more reactions from state Republicans and Democrats to the attacks in Washington: 'Attack On Democracy:' NJ Congress Reps Shelter, Decry DC Riots

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