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2 Washington state Republicans support impeaching Trump

House Television
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via AP
In this Jan. 7, 2021, photo image taken from video, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., speaks as the House debates the objection to confirm the Electoral College vote from Pennsylvania, at the U.S. Capitol.

Two of the 10 Republicans who voted in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump on Wednesday over the riot of his loyalists at the U.S. Capitol were from Washington state.

U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who represents southwest Washington's 3rd Congressional District, and Rep. Dan Newhouse, who represents central Washington's 4th District, said Trump violated his oath of office by inflaming the insurrectionists and failing to defend the government from them.

Herrera Beutler issued a statement Tuesday night saying Trump incited the riot last week and calling his response to it "pathetic." She spoke in favor of impeachment during debate on the House floor Wednesday, saying, "I am not choosing a side. I am choosing truth."

"The president of the United States incited a riot aiming to halt the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next," Herrera Beutler wrote in the statement. "Hours went by before the president did anything meaningful to stop the attack."

Newhouse was among 126 members of Congress who last month signed a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a unsuccessful effort by the state of Texas to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the November election.

But he, too, came out in support of impeachment, saying in a statement that "turning a blind eye to this brutal assault on our republic is not an option," and that when domestic enemies were at the door of the Capitol, Trump failed to respond.

"There is no excuse for the president's actions," Newhouse said on the House floor.

Among the state's Republican U.S. representatives, only Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who represents the 5th District in eastern Washington, opposed the impeachment, which she described as rushed. She said she did not believe Trump's speech before the assault on the Capitol rose to the level of incitement, but she nevertheless condemned the president's actions.

Newhouse and McMorris Rodgers owned some of the blame for the tone of politics that helped inflame the riots. They said that while Democrats had failed to adequately condemn violent protests following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police last year, they themselves should have spoken out sooner against Trump's lies.

"People on the right have excused and defended President Trump, including me, because he stood for free markets and economic growth, led the most pro-life administration in history, defended religious freedom, stood for Israel, and supported the rule of law," McMorris Rodgers said in a written statement. "For Trump supporters like me, it meant turning a blind eye to arrogant, prideful, and bullying behavior. We all need to take some responsibility, tone down the rhetoric, stop silencing anyone and everyone who might disagree with us, and do better."

All three Republicans from Washington were reelected comfortably in November and voted against Trump's first impeachment last year. Herrera Beutler has said she didn't vote for Trump in 2016 but supported him in November.

All seven Democratic representatives from Washington supported impeachment.

U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., speaks as the House of Representatives debates the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington in December 2019. On Jan. 13, 2021, Newhouse came out in favor of impeaching Trump over
Credit The Associated Press
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The Associated Press
U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., speaks as the House of Representatives debates the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington in December 2019. On Jan. 13, 2021, Newhouse came out in favor of impeaching Trump over last week's riot at the Capitol.