UPDATED: 7:56 p.m., Tuesday:
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Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick announced in a statement Tuesday evening that he is joining a group of lawmakers introducing a censure for President Donald Trump.
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The statement from Fitzpatrick’s office noted that the censure against the outgoing president was for “attempting to unlawfully overturn the 2020 Presidential election and for violating his oath of office on January 6th, 2021. In the aftermath of the riot at the Capitol last week, lawmakers have the solemn duty to accomplish two missions: hold the President fully and unequivocally accountable for his actions, and simultaneously calm and heal the fever-pitch tensions in our country.”
The possibility of Fitzpatrick introducing a censure was first reported Tuesday morning by Politico, which noted the congressman was not yet locked in.
Republican congresspeople Tom Reed, of New York; Young Kim, California; Fred Upton, Michigan; John Curtis, Utah; and Peter Meijer, of Michigan, joined Fitzpatrick in introducing the concurrent resolution.
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“President Trump’s attempts to undermine the outcome of the 2020 election have been unconscionable. The combination of a false information campaign coupled with inflammatory rhetoric led to the devastation that I was a personal witness to on the House Floor on January 6th. His actions threatened the integrity of our democracy, Congress, and his own Vice President. For months, President Trump has been lying to the American people with false information, and giving his supporters false expectations. The election is over,” Fitzpatrick said in the statement. “Joe Biden will be sworn in as President of the United States on January 20th, 2021. President Trump’s actions, behavior, and language are unacceptable and unbecoming of the office he holds for the next eight days.”
The statement on the censure move noted that President-Elect Joe Biden is sworn in next Wednesday and impeachment, citing Democratic West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin is “ill-advised.”
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“Forcing a time-consuming and divisive trial in the Senate, which cannot even occur until after President-elect Biden takes office, would also undermine President-elect Biden’s ability to govern effectively at the beginning and most critical time of his presidency. Because of these concerns, my colleagues and I support a bipartisan, bicameral censure that ensures that the Congress—the House and the Senate—can unite to hold the President accountable by putting it on the record that Congress condemns the President’s conduct and for violating his oath of office on January 6th, 2021. Our country must both hold the President accountable and provide closure and the opportunity to begin anew with the incoming administration. A concurrent censure resolution with language nearly identical to the impeachment resolution introduced in the House is the only immediate, appropriate, and effective means for achieving this,” the statement further said.
Censures are formal statements of disapproval or condemnation against an elected official. It is nonbinding and imposes official punishment.
The Senate website notes that a censure can “have a powerful psychological effect” on the person it is inflicted upon.
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The resolution filed Tuesday evening notes that Trump, who is in his waning days in office, acted in a “manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law.”
Earlier Tuesday evening, Fitzpatrick signed onto a letter from 25 Democratic and Republican members of Congress to Trump asking that he “address the nation and unequivocally denounce domestic terrorism, condemn harmful propaganda, urge anyone considering mobilizing to stay home and affirmatively state that you are no way supportive of violent messages of any kind. We must, as one nation, stand up against extremism in all its forms.”
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The letter comes in the wake of last week’s attack and as domestic terrorism threats for the coming days and weeks have increased.
Fitzpatrick, who just began his third term, did not vote for Trump in 2016, but he did cast his ballot for him in 2020, as first reported by WBCB News. In addition, Fitzpatrick received a robocall endorsement from the president last fall.
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Original Story:
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In the wake of last week’s attack on the U.S. Capitol, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick is weighing his options, according to a report.
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While some in Congress are launching impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, Politico first reported, citing two GOP sources, Tuesday morning that Fitzpatrick, a Republican from Middletown Township, was considering “introducing a censure resolution against Trump, which could come as early as today.”
“While one source cautioned that Fitzpatrick might not ultimately follow through with such a move — he’s still deciding whether to pull the trigger — it is something that has been discussed. Fitzpatrick is one of the House Republicans who is clearly very upset and outraged by the president’s actions and is looking for a way to show his disapproval,” the report from Politico journalist Olivia Beavers said.
Fitzpatrick’s office did not return a request for comment on Monday and has not answered questions from this news organization in the wake of the election. A request for comment on the Politico report Tuesday morning was not immediately returned.
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Fitzpatrick did not vote for Trump in 2016, but he changed his mind and voted for him in 2020. The congressman, who won reelection in the fall, received a robocall endorsement from the president last fall.
Last week, Fitzpatrick said said the attack on the U.S. Capitol was “nothing short of a coup attempt.” He added: “[Trump] lit the flame of incitement and owns responsibility for this.”
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During Trump’s first impeachment, the congressman voted against the effort for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. He raised concern over Trump’s actions that led up to the impeachment vote, but said it took an “entirely partisan path with an artificial timeline and a predetermined outcome.”
In Washington D.C., the Democratic-majority U.S. House of Representatives is expected Tuesday to vote on a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet to use the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office in the waning days of his term. The effort is due to what many in Congress feel is Trump’s ratcheting up of fiery language and for speaking at the event just before the Capitol building was attacked by a mob of his supporters, which led to five deaths. The pre-attack rally included a call for “trial by combat” by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and other heated remarks from speakers.
The attack happened as the Congress began to finalize the 2020 election results. President-Elect Joe Biden will take office next Wednesday at noon.
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“The President represents an imminent threat to our Constitution, our Country and the American people, and he must be removed from office immediately,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, said in a statement Monday.
Reporting and public statements have not indicated that Pence plans to move forward with invoking the 25th Amendment at this time.
Pelosi said if the 25th Amendment was not involved, impeachment would be the next option. Some Republicans, including ones who were blamed by peers for inciting the attack, have rebuffed the motion, calling for utility.
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U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, who represents Pennsylvania and has supported Trump, has called for the president to resign in the wake of the attack.
“I think at this point with just a few days left, it’s the best path forward, the best way to get this person in the rearview mirror for us,” Toomey said on CNN. “That could happen immediately. I’m not optimistic it will, but I do think that would be the best way forward.”
NPR reported Toomey said in a Fox News interview that Trump has committed “impeachable offenses.”
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U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat representing Pennsylvania, has said Trump should be removed from office. He has also called for “accountability for those members of Congress who led the effort to overthrow a democratic election.”
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“If they refuse to resign their office, then Congress should begin to explore censure or expulsion. Failing to hold those responsible for the insurrection accountable would be a profound injustice and give a green light to future authoritarians,” Casey said, according to PennLive.
Trump, who has been banned from Twitter, told reporters Tuesday morning outside the White House that the anger against him for allegedly inciting the attackers was “ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.”
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