Arizona Representatives React To President Trump's Impeachment
Download mp3 (10.91 MB)U.S. House members met Jan. 13 to vote for the second time in just over a year to impeach President Donald Trump in response to his incitement of a riot that led last week’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
The vote gave Trump the distinction of being the only sitting president to be impeached twice, with a final tally of 232 to 197.
Ten Republican representatives joined Democrats in passing the article of impeachment. Arizona’s members voted along party lines.
Prior to the vote, House Democrat Greg Stanton of Phoenix wasted no time paring out his opinion of Trump’s behavior.
"Donald Trump is the first president in the history of this Republic to incite a violent insurrection against our own government, against our own people," Stanton said. "It is a shocking betrayal of his oath of office and our American values. We don’t know yet if the president will face criminal charges, but we do know he must be held to account.”
Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Gilbert used his floor time to paint Trump as a perennial target of Democrats.
“It is with wariness and a certain unhealthy, morbid curiosity that I watch the beast attempt to devour Donald J. Trump again. The craving to crush President Trump has never been satisfied. Not through investigations, not through false allegations, and not even through an impeachment that was wholly without merit," Biggs said.
Biggs went on to say that impeachment may have unintended consequences for Democrats.
“Yours will be a Pyrrhic victory, for instead of stopping the Trump train, his movement will grow stronger. For you will have made him a martyr,” Biggs said.
Peoria Rep. Debbie Lesko, a Republican, acknowledged that Joe Biden will be inaugurated next week and that she believes Trump when he says the remainder of the transition will be peaceful. However, Lesko felt that the House wasn’t given adequate time for discussion.
“This move sets a dangerous precedent for our nation. If Congress is going to impeach a president, it must not only be done after intense debate and deliberation, not rushed through in the 11th hour to make a political point,” Lesko said.
The Show spoke with Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District. The Democrat voted in favor of impeachment and said members of the House may face punishment as well.
