Rep. Jason Smith (R-Salem) came out against a second impeachment of President Donald J. Trump during Wednesday comments made on the floor of the US House of Representatives. The House was debating whether Trump should face removal from office for the events of Jan. 6 at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. During his speech, Smith referred to the incident as a “domestic terror attack” and supported the creation of a commission to investigate the incident.
Smith’s full comments are below:
“If we defeat the previous question, we will amend the rule to immediate bring up the bill establishing a bipartisan national commission on the domestic terror attack of the United States Capitol. This has been a devastating week for our nation. Just last week we stood right here in this vary chamber while a violent mob laid siege to the seat of American democracy. It is vital we get the facts on what went wrong last week, why the security apparatus failed and how we can ensure it never happens again. Less than 50 feet from where we stand in this room a young lady lost her life through those doors. Through those doors. I was in this chamber when those gunshots rang. That is real stuff. That should never happen in the people’s House. For the first time can the House Democrats and the Speaker of the House put the people before politics. Please put the people before politics. At a time when our nation is more divided than ever before, let’s put people before politics. President Trump will be leaving in seven days. Let’s try to heal this nation. Let’s listen to the American people. This is the people’s House. Let’s operate for the people. This country is hurting. The people are hurting. Our colleagues are hurting. This is a reckless impeachment. This will only bring up the hate and fire more than ever before. Have a conscious. Put the people before the politics. Unify this country.”
In response to Smith, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) said, “Let me remind all of my colleagues that what happened on Wednesday would not have happened if it weren’t for the occupant in the White House. If we want to put the people first, we all ought to vote to impeach him and remove him from office as soon as possible.”
The US House of Representative is continuing debate Wednesday whether to impeach Trump with a vote expected before the end of the day. Trump is accused of inciting an attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6 during a joint session of Congress to count the Electoral College votes cast during the 2020 Presidential Election.
