Local Politicians React To House Of Representatives Impeaching President Donald Trump

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KDKA) -- Local representatives weighed in after President Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives.

On Wednesday, President Trump became the third president in American history to be impeached.

The first article of impeachment, abuse of power, passed by a vote of 230-197-1.

The second article, obstruction of Congress, passed 229-198-1.

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler voted against impeachment and issued a statement, saying:

"House Democrats can't beat President Trump on the merits, so they caved to their far-left base and used the thoughts and feelings of a few unelected bureaucrats, rather than relying on facts of law, to impeach a duly elected president," said Reschenthaler. "As a lawyer, I would defend this case in court every single day. As a former judge, I would dismiss this case for lack of merit because the facts just aren't there. This is nothing more than a political hit job."

Rep. Conor Lamb voted for both articles of impeachment and issued a statement, saying:

"Today I voted for both articles of impeachment before the House. Throughout this process I have listened to both sides and carefully reviewed all the evidence. What President Trump did was wrong. I hoped that he would take responsibility for what he did so that we could move past this, but he did not. We cannot accept that. We cannot allow any President of the United States to put his interests ahead of our national security.

"I want to thank every one of my constituents who contacted me to express your opinions, and I will continue working to get things done to help everyone in our district. Last week, members of both parties voted to cut prescription drug prices and expand Medicare to include vision, dental and hearing benefits. This week, members of both parties voted to approve record levels of funding to secure our elections and combat the opioid epidemic, and to fully fund pensions and health care for our retired coal miners. Tomorrow, we will begin a new era of fair trade, with a deal initiated by the President and improved by workers themselves.

"Impeachment was part of our work, but it is not all of our work. We have also shown that great things are possible when we work together, and in 2020, I remain committed to working with anyone in Washington to get things done for the 17th district."

Rep. Mike Doyle voted to impeach President Trump and released a statement, saying:

"Today, I voted to impeach President Trump because he abused the power of his office by illegally soliciting election assistance from a foreign government and refused to comply with Congressional subpoenas.

"The evidence is clear, the law is clear, and our Constitution is clear.

"In the interests of national security, our democracy, and the rule of law, I strongly support impeachment, and I believe that if Senators weigh the overwhelming and uncontested evidence as unbiased jurors, they will vote to convict and remove President Trump from office."

Rep. Glenn Thompson voted against impeachment, and issued this statement:

"This vote was a political stunt aimed at reversing the votes of 63 million Americans who put the President in office. I voted with a resounding "NO." I applaud the three Democrats who joined a united Republican conference in opposition. I continue to warn others that scoring cheap political points is not worth leaving a lasting stain on this institution. They need to understand the American public is tired of the games and want real results out of Washington."

Rep. Mike Kelly also voted against impeachment.