Top House Republican Comes Out in Favor of Impeachment, Claims Trump ‘Lit the Flame’ of Capitol Riot

Representative Liz Cheney, the third-highest ranking House Republican, came out Tuesday in favor of Democratic efforts to impeach the president for a second time, making her the first member of House GOP leadership to announce her support for impeachment.

“On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic,” the Wyoming congresswoman, who chairs the House Republican Conference, said in a statement.

A large group of Trump supporters rioted at the Capitol on Wednesday, just after the president urged his supporters to push back against alleged widespread election fraud during a rally in front of the White House. The violence resulted in five dead, including a Capitol Police officer.

Democrats introduced an article of impeachment against Trump on Monday, charging him with “incitement of insurrection” for his rhetoric before and during the riot. The House is set to vote on the impeachment article on Wednesday.

“Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution,” Cheney continued.

“I will vote to impeach the President,” She concluded.

Shortly after Cheney’s statement was released, she was joined by another Republican congressman, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who announced that he would vote to impeach the president as well.

The White House reportedly expects between ten and twenty more defections by GOP members of Congress.