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Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus) will vote to impeach President Donald Trump for inciting the violent mob that stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, becoming the first Republican House member to publicly support the measure.

The announcement comes one day after Democrats in the House of Representatives introduced an article of impeachment with the charge of inciting an insurrection. 

“To allow the president of the United States to incite this attack without consequence is a direct threat to the future of our democracy,” Katko said in a statement, first reported by Syracuse.com. “For that reason, I cannot sit by without taking action. I will vote to impeach this president.”

House Democrats plan to vote Tuesday for a measure that calls on Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, which would remove Trump from office. Katko does not plan on voting in favor of the measure, Syracuse.com reported. If Pence does not invoke the 25th Amendment, the House is expected to vote on impeachment as soon as Wednesday.

Katko is the first Republican House member to formally announce his plans to vote to impeach the president. He previously endorsed Trump’s 2020 election bid.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has told associates that he thinks Trump’s offenses are impeachable, The New York Times reported. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the third highest ranking House Republican, announced Tuesday evening that she would also vote for impeachment. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) also stated Tuesday evening that he will vote to impeach the president.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 215 House members and 38 senators publicly backed impeachment.

In 2019, Katko voted against impeaching Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, saying “while I believe some of the President’s actions were wrong and inappropriate, they do not rise to the level of an impeachable offense.”

On Wednesday, Katko could see the pro-Trump mob storming the Capitol from the window of an office that he was hiding in, he told Syracuse.com.

He tweeted after the attack that he was safe. He later said that “the attack on the U.S. Capitol is shameful and completely unacceptable. It has endangered the lives of our law enforcement and countless others.”

Published on January 12, 2021 at 5:26 pm

Contact Gabe: gkstern@syr.edu | @gabestern326