Trump Impeached a Second Time for Incitement of Insurrection

The Article of Impeachment

Just one week after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, the House of Representatives voted on January 13, 2021, to impeach President Trump on a single article: “incitement of insurrection.” The article charged that Trump had “engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States” through his repeated false claims that the election was stolen, his speech at the rally on January 6 urging supporters to march on the Capitol, and his failure to act to stop the violence once it began. The speed of the impeachment was extraordinary — the article was introduced on January 11, just five days after the attack and seven days before Trump was set to leave office.

The Vote

The House voted 232-197 to impeach Trump, with ten Republicans joining all Democrats. It was the most bipartisan presidential impeachment in American history. Among the Republicans who voted to impeach was Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking House Republican, who said Trump had “summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack.” Other Republican votes to impeach came from Representatives Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington, and seven others. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, who had initially said Trump “bears responsibility” for the attack, ultimately voted against impeachment but acknowledged that Trump’s actions were wrong.

The Case for Impeachment

Supporters of impeachment argued that allowing a president to incite a violent attack on Congress and face no consequences would set a catastrophic precedent. They pointed to the timeline: Trump spent months spreading the false claim that the election was stolen, summoned supporters to Washington for a “wild” protest on January 6, directed them to march on the Capitol, and then failed to intervene for hours as the violence unfolded. Even after the breach of the building, while members of Congress were being evacuated and police officers were being beaten, Trump tweeted an attack on Vice President Pence for lacking “courage” to reject electoral votes — further inflaming the mob that was searching the Capitol chanting “Hang Mike Pence.”

The Senate Trial

The Senate trial began on February 9, 2021, after Trump had already left office. House impeachment managers presented a detailed case built on video evidence, Trump’s own public statements, and a timeline of his actions and inactions on January 6. On February 13, the Senate voted 57-43 to convict — a majority, but short of the two-thirds supermajority required for conviction. Seven Republicans voted to convict, including Senators Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, and Pat Toomey. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, despite voting to acquit on procedural grounds, delivered a blistering speech declaring that Trump was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.”

Legacy

Trump’s second impeachment cemented his place in history as the only American president to be impeached twice. Nearly all of the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach were subsequently punished by their state parties, faced primary challengers, or chose not to seek reelection. Liz Cheney, who went on to serve as vice chair of the House January 6 Committee, was removed from her leadership position and lost her 2022 primary. The political retribution against those who held Trump accountable sent a clear message within the Republican Party about the cost of defying Trump, even in the face of an attack on the democratic process itself.