Pa. congressional delegation split along partisan lines in impeachment vote
Written by Juliana on January 14, 2021
Pa. congressional delegation split along partisan lines in impeachment vote
By Katie Meyer / WHYY
January 14, 2021
Though the House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Donald Trump, Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation remains split along partisan lines on how to respond to Trump’s actions leading up to the insurrection at the Capitol last week.
Some Republicans say Trump didn’t directly incite violence that ended with five people dead, and say impeaching him would be too divisive.
Democrats say Trump clearly prompted the riot with his baseless election fraud accusations and rallies held just before the riot.
Republican Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14) is one of the congressmen arguing against impeachment.
“President Trump has committed to a peaceful and uninterrupted transfer of power, but that’s not good enough for my colleagues,” Reschenthaler says.
Pennsylvania congresswoman Madeleine Dean, a Democrat, argues that Trump has already made a peaceful transition impossible.
“Removing Donald Trump is the beginning of restoring decency and democracy,” Dean says.
All of Pennsylvania’s Democrats supported impeachment. The only Republican from the commonwealth who called for penalties for Trump is moderate Brian Fitzpatrick, who is supporting a proposal to censure the president.
But Fitzpatrick still voted against impeachment.
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