Arizona politicians react to second House impeachment of Trump

PHOENIX — For the first time in U.S. history, a president was impeached twice by the House of Representatives following Wednesday’s vote to remove President Donald Trump.

Arizona’s five House Democrats voted yes on impeachment while the four Republicans voted no. Those state leaders and others across Arizona weren’t shy in sharing their opinions on the historic event.

Democrat U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton called Trump’s actions a “shocking betrayal of the oath of office.”

Trump was charged with “incitement of insurrection” over the deadly mob siege of the Capitol last week in a swift and stunning collapse of his final days in office.

“Donald Trump is the first president in the history of this republic to incite a violent insurrection against our own government and against our own people,” Stanton said.

We must move forward as a nation from these darkest of days. But we cannot move forward without accountability. That is our job, that is our Constitutional duty.

We must impeach this President. pic.twitter.com/Mzi5DT6Tpe

— Rep. Greg Stanton (@RepGregStanton) January 13, 2021

Fellow Democrat Congressmen Raul Grijalva and Tom O’Halleran, and Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick also laid out their reasoning for their votes.

“President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States, threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power and imperiled a coequal branch of Government,” Kirkpatrick said in a tweet. “He must be impeached and removed now.”

#AZ01: Donald Trump incited violence that led to the deaths of 5 Americans. Congress cannot in good conscience leave a direct threat to Americans' safety in the highest seat of power in the free world. Today, we acted in a bipartisan manner to remove him. https://t.co/Trwt8lu7zi

— Rep. Tom O'Halleran (@RepOHalleran) January 13, 2021

I will vote to impeach Trump for a second time because calls of ‘unity’ will not stop the treacherous situations Trump continues to encourage.

Trump and his congressional enablers must be held accountable for the carnage and terror they released on our nation last week. https://t.co/oFHU9n7xUD

— Raul M. Grijalva (@RepRaulGrijalva) January 13, 2021

Republicans disagreed with the impeachment, saying the move further divides the country when unity is needed.

“At a time when our country desperately needs to move forward in pursuit of unity, it is deeply concerning that my Democratic colleagues have chosen to impeach a president with just seven days left in office,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko said in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs released a flurry of tweets, expressing disappointment that “cooler heads did not prevail amongst Democrats today.”

The impeachment of President Trump, one week before he relinquishes power, does what Democrats wrongfully claim President Trump did on 1/6. It pours gas on the smoldering embers, which consists of tens of millions who have serious doubts about the integrity of our elections.

— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) January 14, 2021

U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, who also voted no, echoed Lesko’s sentiments.

“After the despicable events of January 6th, it is more important than ever that the United States Congress do the work of the people and direct our focus entirely on conquering the ongoing issues our great nation is facing,” Schweikert said in a statement.

“Today’s vote fails to do that. It divides Congress even further at a time when we should be setting an example for the nation by showing we can put politics aside and put the country first.”

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