Ten House Republicans broke rank and voted to impeach President Donald Trump following the failed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Representative Darrell Issa (R- 50) was not one of them.
"What’s being debated is whether with 167 hours left until he leaves office, is he a clear and present danger and he clearly isn’t," Rep. Issa said from the House floor shortly before the vote.
The 50th District has been a historically deep-red district for decades, but in recent years it is slowly becoming more moderate. Voters there, like the rest of the country, are split about whether or not they support impeaching President Trump.
"I think that if Trump was impeached again or tried to be, I think the country would be a lot more divided," said Kristen Lyons, a voter in the 50th District.
"I don't know, if he doesn't go to jail over this I will have lost hope in our system, and this is crazy, crazy," said Jake Kelley, another voter in the 50th.
House Democrats say they plan to use Republicans' votes on impeachment as an opportunity to challenge them in heavily contested districts in the 2022 election cycle.
"I think those Republicans who are in competitive seats who went along for the ride on this Trump lie that the election was stolen, that incited this violence, who objected to the Electoral College results and overturn the will of the people, that's who they voted for," U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a Democrat from New York, said. "I think they should have to explain that vote. You bet. It is a disgraceful vote and they are participants in spreading this incendiary information that has caused so much damage."
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Now the vote to convict President Trump will be left up to the Senate. Assuming all Democrats vote to impeach, 17 Republican Senators would have to vote with them for a conviction. If convicted, President Trump could be barred from ever holding federal office again.
