'They have not proved the crime.' How Washington state representatives voted on impeachment
Washington's U.S. House delegation voted on impeachment along party lines Wednesday.
The state's seven Democratic representatives voted for impeachment of President Donald Trump, collectively saying they did so to uphold the constitution.
The three Republican representatives voted no, criticizing the process.
The Senate will take up the issue in the new year. Washington's senators are expected to vote in favor of convicting Trump of the charges against him.
Representatives have explained their votes to constituents in statements, tweets, and speeches on the House floor this week.
Here's what they said:
Suzan DelBene, Dem. | District 1 (Medina)
During her speech on December 18, she said, "I did not come to this conclusion lightly. Impeachment is an extremely serious matter, but no president can be allowed to pressure a foreign country for personal and political gain."
Jaime Herrera Beutler, Repub. | District 3 (Vancouver, SW Washington)
In a statement, Rep. Beutler said "no one is above the law," but she voted against the impeachment of President Trump.
Dan Newhouse, Repub. | District 4 (central Washington)
Newhouse criticized Democrats for bringing up impeachment before the 2020 election. He spoke on the House floor on December 18 before the vote.
Listen to Dan Newhouse
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Repub. | District 5 (Spokane)
McMorris Rodgers has seldom spoken in public about the impeachment, but did comment to Spokane TV station KHQ, saying "I believe that this has been a process driven by politics, unfortunately, and the Democrats have not made the case, they have not proved the crime."
Derek Kilmer, D | District 6 (Gig Harbor)
Pramila Jayapal, Dem. | District 7 (Seattle)
She has long called for impeachment and spoke on the House floor hours before the vote, on December 18.
Listen to Pramila Jayapal
Kim Schrier, Dem. | District 8 (Issaquah)
Schrier represents a swing district on the eastside of King County and the western slopes of the Cascades. She is the first Democrat elected to District 8, and spoke before the impeachment vote on the House floor.
Listen to Kim Schrier
Adam Smith, Dem. | District 9 (Bellevue)
Denny Heck, Dem. | District 10 (Olympia)
Heck is retiring in 2020, after having served as the first representative of District 10.
He has said the time spent on investigating President Trump, among other things, has rendered his "soul weary".
In the U.S. House vote, he said "This idea of America is in peril, brought about so by this president who sought to cheat in an election.
"The question is can America survive this behavior? What idea will we hand down to those who follow us, and finally what is our obligation to those who would follow?
"It is simply this: to do our duty, to defend the Constitution... by voting yes on the articles of impeachment."
Listen to Denny Heck
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Paige Browning
Newscaster
Paige hosts midday newscasts and monitors news of significance to the Puget Sound region. She hopped over Washington’s mountains to join KUOW, after hosting news and reporting at Spokane Public Radio since 2011. She began her start in radio while a journalism student at University of Montana, by sharing stories with KUFM. Paige was raised in the mountains and rivers around Spokane. In her spare time she cheers on the Mariners in the summer, and hopes for snow in the winter.
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