The longest current member of the U.S. House of Representatives voted against impeaching President Trump on Jan. 13. Rep. Don Young joined most of his fellow Republicans in refusing to hastily remove their president.
The vote came one week after a small fraction of a massive crowd of protesters who marched to the Capitol Building to protest election fraud turned violent. The chaos resulted in one unarmed woman being shot by police and a police officer dying after being assaulted.
The impeachment vote still passed 232 to 197 with 10 Republicans voting in favor. It now heads to the Senate where it will not be taken up until after Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20. That means the Senate will hold its impeachment trial after Trump vacates the White House, making the entire effort more of a statement than political necessity.
The article of impeachment charged Trump with “incitement of insurrection” and blamed his Jan. 6 speech to protesters for the violence of a few that took place later in the day. Trump’s speech, however, explicitly urged supporters to hold a peaceful protest rally.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
In a statement following his vote against impeachment, Young said he did not “believe impeaching a president in the last week of his term is the best way forward.”
“We must lower the temperature of our political climate, and begin to recognize that our toxic discourse can have dangerous consequences,” he added. “As I have said before, it is on all of us, including President Donald Trump and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to tone down the rhetoric and help foster a political climate worthy of this great country.”
On the day of the impeachment, Trump released a video condemning the violence and urging peace across the nation.
REP. YOUNG’S FULL STATEMENT
Today, I voted against the Article of Impeachment of President Donald Trump. This past week has been a difficult one for our nation, and it will undoubtedly go down as a sad moment for the institution and country I love. What transpired at the Capitol on January 6th was an act of terror against American democracy, law enforcement, and Members of Congress. We must send a clear message by bringing the perpetrators of violence to justice, and prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law. Our nation must recover from the deep wounds of division that have driven us apart over the past few years, but I do not believe that impeaching a president in the last week of his term is the best way forward.
We must lower the temperature of our political climate, and begin to recognize that our toxic discourse can have dangerous consequences. As I have said before, it is on all of us, including President Donald Trump and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to tone down the rhetoric and help foster a political climate worthy of this great country. President Trump has committed to a peaceful transfer of power to President-elect Biden, and next week, we will begin an orderly transition as we have for over 200 years. National unity and accountability can go hand-in-hand, and I call on both Republicans and Democrats to work on keeping their own houses in order so that we can begin to heal.
This is a challenging time for our country. People are out of work, children are facing greater obstacles to learning, and small businesses across the country are shutting down for good. People are suffering, and if we are to get through this as a nation, we need to get back to the people’s business. No matter what party controls the White House or the Congress, America will always be great. May God Bless America and may God Bless Alaska.
10 Comments
And God bless you Rep. Young!
Don Young I hope and pray that you survive all of this BS.
I’m putting anyone who I would have Voted for on Notice. If you for any reason went against Donald Trump I wouldn’t vote for you even if you were running for cleaning the toilets. As far as I am concerned you do not believe in the Constitution of the United States of America and you are only worried about the paycheck that you don’t deserve. With all due respect it is my opinion and my opinion alone, I would not Piss on you if you were on fire.
once a traitor
Rep. Young said this: Our nation must recover from the deep wounds of division that have driven us apart over the past few years
The division has been going on since the first day Obummer took office!! We just didn’t go out burning down the town, defunding the police and posting pics of decapitating the president or threatening to blow up the White House!! And was escalated for the past 4 yrs by the demoncraps constantly harassing our great President, never working with him!! I suggest Rep. Young go listen to Mark Levin tonight on Hannity! There’s a man who tells it like it is!! I don’t know about you people but I was raised in Texas and we were taught at a very young age not to swallow BS!! Two can not walk together if one is headed for the narrow gate and the other is headed for the wide gate~ Fact and Truth!
How is this for Facts and not Rhetoric: YOU ARE A TRAITOR WHO VOTED TO CERTIFY A STOLEN ELECTION BY A CHINESE PUPPET! You voted to put a foreign Cuck in the OVAL OFFICE! Go eat shit and die you Traitor to the Republic!
Drain the swamp of career politicians…..Rinos out…sorry Mr. Young, that means you.
Certifying the election? You and Murkowski and Sullivan need to go…..Time for new leadership in Alaska and DC….
Rest up, Trump…2024 looks good
Screw you don young and your BS unity.
Total hypocrite Don Young,,,This vapor of an action will not save you. Your action on the voter fraud and subsequent follow up on congratulations to the pedophile Ukraine criminal Joe Biden is your albatross,, Young will not stand up and declare the vote fraud we all see through our own eyes because he is not an oathkeeper. Protecting our voting rights is his first obligation in this situation. All the treasonous will be arrested . Those who were instrumental in Alaska by making sure we purchased the communist owned dominion garbage machines [Lt Gov Meyer] will be arrested …Oh and dont forget your identity theft that was probably sold to the Chinese in the same breech…… They sold us to the communist Chinese… here comes your fortune cookie for treasonous sellouts….. enjoy… The absolute irony is I voted for this disgrace and to top it off he pisses on our votes by not defending them.
You need to address the upcoming Senate vote with our Alaskan delegation. If they like their jobs in the least they better not vote to impeach. Help us out here Don
Thank you, Don Young, but I agree with Kaye. The Obama administration, and now the Biden team, have convinced America that BLM and Antifa is a good idea. Unlike what you said in your statement, this division didn’t start with Trump, or in the last few years. We were going in the right direction race relations wise until 2008. As a white woman, I was looking forward to a black president coming along one day. When I found out Obama said our jobs aren’t coming back from oversea (because he wouldn’t stand up and fight for them like
Trump), that America is moving from being a nation of producers to a nation of consumers, and that he thought that trend should continue, I knew he wasn’t the president for me. Then to find out about Obama and his buddy, an actual terrorist named Bill Ayers, and Obama’s racist pastor Rev Jeremiah Wright? And Michelle Obama said her husband getting elected president was the first time she was proud of her country? I’m not that old, but I’m old enough to remember that. No, this division wasn’t caused by Trump. With all due respect, you’re pointing the finger at the wrong President.