Massachusetts lawmakers react to historic second impeachment of President Trump

Massachusetts lawmakers spoke out as President Trump was impeached by the U.S. House for a historic second time Wednesday. He is charged with “incitement of insurrection” over the deadly mob siege of the Capitol in a swift and stunning collapse of his final days in office.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D- Mass.) 

Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.)

Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.)

“Congress has a constitutional obligation to intervene when sitting Presidents commit a high crime or misdemeanor, no matter how much time remains in their term. Donald Trump must be held accountable for inciting a violent insurrection in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election and overthrow our government.”

“The consequences of this President’s inability to uphold his oath to the Constitution has proven fatal. Five Americans’ lives were cut short because of his refusal to relinquish power, including a Capitol Police officer who was killed during the attack on the Capitol. We must demand justice not only for those who perpetrated this act of insurrection, but also for those who incited it if we are to come together and heal as a nation.”

“Today, I voted to hold Donald Trump accountable. Now that he has been impeached, including by members of his own party, the Senate must commence with a trial and a vote to ensure that he never spends another second as President of the United States. The future of our Democracy relies on it.”

Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.):

“We are a nation of laws, traditions, and values. The seditious act we witnessed on January 6th was unprecedented, and President Trump’s response to this horrific attack and deadly insurrection was inexcusable. When the citadel of our democracy comes under attack, actions taken by the President need to be swift and unwavering. Instead, the President incited this mob. He called on his supporters to come to Washington, to march to the Capitol and to fight. When my colleagues plead with him to call off his supporters and their dangerous actions, he ignored them.

“What occurred last Wednesday afternoon was an affront to our historic republic, and the President illustrated his complete inability to lead this country with honor and effectively fulfill his constitutional duty.

“When we called for President Trump’s impeachment in December 2019, I said, ‘Impeachment is reserved for moments of grave danger, when the constitutional order becomes dangerously out of balance. Moments like this one.’ This is unequivocally another one of those moments.

“We are a nation built on rule of law, not the law of rulers. Last Wednesday, the President incited an insurrection and today I voted once again to impeach him.”

Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.):

“Today, for a second time in two years, I joined my colleagues the U.S. House of Representatives in voting to impeach Donald J. Trump.

“Throughout his chaotic and divisive tenure in the White House, the President has sown hate and violence throughout America. His presidency has been a series of policies and pronouncements meant to brutalize and denigrate some while amassing power for himself and his enablers.

“On Wednesday, January 6, 2021, his years of craven despotism resulted in a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol and on American democracy. The insurrection was incited by Donald Trump’s months-long lie about the integrity of the 2020 election, a lie further inflamed by Members of Congress who swore an oath to defend the very democracy they now desecrate.

“As Massachusetts suffragist and abolitionist Lucy Stone stated, ‘If we speak the truth fearlessly, we shall add to our number those who will turn the scale to the side of equal and full justice in all things’.

“The truth is that a seditious President’s actions have left five Americans dead, our Capitol besieged, our security threatened, and our democracy hanging in the balance. The truth is a vote to impeach is the only way to ensure that ‘the government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth’.

“I will never forget walking to the Capitol on January 6^th while angry, hateful rioters stormed the citadel of our democracy waving Confederate flags. This moment must be a turning point for America; a moment that we reject partisan excuses that allow white supremacy to continue terrorizing America, a moment that we come together and demand accountability as one body, as one America, united in our commitment to democracy and justice.

“America, be undeterred, be determined and be hopeful. While today we are in darkness, on January 20^th, President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris will take office, and we will rebuild a more just, inclusive America. A new beginning is ahead.”

Rep. William Keating (D-Mass.)

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.)

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.)

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