BINGHAMTON, NY (WSKG) — The House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump by a vote of 232-197 on Wednesday. The votes among Upstate New York and Northern Tier Pennsylvania representatives were split.
Central New York Rep. John Katko (NY-24), a Republican, was one of ten House Republicans that voted to impeach the president. Katko, whose district includes Cayuga County and other parts of Central New York, explained his choice in a post on social media Tuesday, citing the attack on the Capitol by a violent mob of Trump supporters last Wednesday.
“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. “For that reason, I cannot sit by without taking action. I will vote to impeach this president.”
Southern Tier Congressman Tom Reed (NY-23) voted against impeachment. In an op-ed in The New York Times earlier this week, Reed said that while the president’s words were “unwise, intemperate and wrong,” they may not qualify as incitement.
“An impeachment on the grounds that they do will inevitably erode the norms around what may be considered constitutionally protected speech,” Reed wrote.
He added that impeachment could fuel political divisions throughout the country.
Sophomore Democratic Representative Antonio Delgado (NY-19), meanwhile, tweeted that he would vote to impeach the president in the name of “unity through accountability.”
“We must unite around love and light, and set ourselves against the dark and hateful notion that might makes right or that the mob mentality shall rule,” Delgado wrote.
No representative for New York 22nd Congressional District, which spans from Binghamton to Utica, was present for the vote as the district’s November election remains locked in a court battle. The seat is only one vacant in all of Congress.
In Pennsylvania, Republican Rep. Fred Keller (PA-12) opposed impeachment. Keller tweeted Wednesday that he joins the president in “calling on every American to remember what unites us as we fulfill the peaceful transfer of power on January 20.”
Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright (PA-8), from a neighboring district in northeastern Pennsylvania, voted to impeach Trump.
The call for impeachment comes after Vice President Mike Pence declined a resolution passed by the House on Tuesday compelling the vice president to invoke the 25th amendment, which would allow Pence to assume the powers of the presidency.