Hello,
Little over a week ago, America experienced a traumatic event that sought to tear at the very foundation of our republic.
There are some basic principles that have stood the test of time in this nation. That this is a government of, by, and for the people. That voters — not angry mobs — choose our president. That, after an election, we have a peaceful transfer of power.
Sadly, in the months since the election and in the last week in particular, Donald Trump has sought to tear down every one of those principles. Time and time again, he has made claims about the election that have been repudiated by Republican secretaries of state, that have been found lacking any merit in more than sixty court cases, and that have been patently untrue.
But last Wednesday, Trump went a step further. He encouraged and incited an insurrection that resulted in an attack on the U.S. Capitol that has already taken five lives. As a mob was attacking the Capitol, he called the rioters "very special people" and said that he loved them.
Candidly, when the history books write about the failed Trump Insurrection of January 6, 2021, there is a threshold question that we must answer. What do we want the next paragraph to say?
I do not want that next paragraph to say that Congress did nothing and that there were no consequences. I do not want that next paragraph to say that Congress allowed Donald Trump to continue to threaten our republic. I am genuinely concerned about the damage he could do during his remaining time in office. This is a man who is no longer allowed to access his Twitter account but who still has access to the nuclear codes.
Tuesday night, the House passed a resolution urging Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from power. Pence refused to act on behalf of the American people. That's why yesterday, I joined my colleagues in the House in voting to impeach President Donald Trump.
I do not take this vote lightly. Indeed, in our nation's history, only three presidents have been impeached. Donald Trump will now be the first president in history to be impeached twice.
I know there are a lot of questions — about the logistics of what might happen and when, about whether we should all just hold our collective breaths as a nation until January 20, about what this means for the Biden agenda, and about what the Senate may or may not do.
While I'm sympathetic to those questions, to me this boils down to a simple question: Did the President commit (another) impeachable offense, and should he be held accountable?
To me, the answer is clearly "yes."
To be clear, friend: I didn't run for office to pursue impeachment. But I took an oath to "defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." Having witnessed rioters — incited by the president — seeking to prevent the peaceful transfer of power, I am committed to fulfilling my oath.
When the history books write of this moment, I am committed to ensuring that the paragraphs that follow this episode give us reasons for hope. That Congress and the Biden Administration worked together to beat back this virus, to help families that are struggling economically, to build our economy back better, and to bring our country together. As your representative, that will continue to be my focus.
And as we move forward, I'm grateful to have you by my side. It's an honor to represent you,
Derek
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People for Derek Kilmer
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