McMorris Rodgers supports president, disagrees with sedition allegation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eastern Washington's two Republican congressional representatives were on opposite sides of the House vote to impreach President Donald Trump for a second time.
Fourth Congressional District Rep. Dan Newhouse of Sunnyside joined Democrats in voting for impreachment of the president on grounds of so-called sedition. Newhouse represents Central Washington, including Benton, Franklin, Adams and Grant counties, among others.
Fifth Congressional District Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Spokane opposed impeachment. She represents Eastern Washington counties that generally border Idaho, including Spokane County and adjacent Whitman County.
The resolution to impeach passed the House by a vote of 232-197. Three representives didn't vote and one voted "present.
“A vote against this impeachment is a vote to validate the unacceptable violence we witnessed in our nation’s capital," Newhouse said in a prepared statement. “It is also a vote to condone President Trump’s inaction.”
Newhouse was among only 10 Republicans to support impeachment; Washington Third Congressional District Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, also joined Democrats.
The only Washington representative to oppose impeachment is McMorris Rodgers.
“I analyzed the Article of Impeachment through the lens that has guided my decision-making throughout my time in Congress: the oath I took to support and defend the Constitution," McMorris Rodgers said. "The Article presented before the House centers around whether President Trump’s words directly incited the violence that took place at the U.S. Capitol last week. Based on my assessment of Constitutionally-protected speech, I do not believe his words constitute an incitement of violence as laid out in Supreme Court precedent.
"Further, impeachment is not something for us to take lightly, and the fact that Speaker Pelosi is rushing this process and has chosen not to hold hearings or extend debate on the questions at hand makes me question her motives as nothing more than politics."
McMorris Rodgers said she found the incursion into the Capitol Building "unlawful and unacceptable," adding that the president showed a lack of leadership in connection with the Jan. 6 incident.
She blamed Democrats for having a double-standard, by not condemning the last nine months of left-wing violence by Black Lives Matter and Antifa, but going after President Trump.
"We all need to take some responsibility, tone down the rhetoric, stop silencing anyone and everyone who might disagree with us, and do better,” she said.
Roger Harnack can be reached at [email protected].
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, columnist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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