By Becky Bohrer / Associated Press
JUNEAU — Alaska U.S. Rep. Don Young voted against impeaching President Donald Trump on a charge of “incitement of insurrection” Wednesday, a week after a deadly mob siege of the Capitol that Young called “an act of terror against American democracy, law enforcement and members of Congress.”
Young, in a statement posted on social media, said a message must be sent “by bringing the perpetrators of violence to justice, and prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law. Our nation must recover from the deep wounds of division that have driven us apart over the past few years, but I do not believe that impeaching a president in the last week of his term is the best way forward.”
Young’s vote was announced by another House member. His office did not immediately say why he didn’t cast his vote personally.
The House vote to impeach was 232-197.
Young, the House’s longest-serving Republican, voted against the first impeachment of Trump in 2019 over the president’s dealings with Ukraine. Young called those proceedings a “political stunt.” The Senate later voted to acquit, with Alaska Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan siding with the majority.
Murkowski told Alaska’s News Source this is different from the first impeachment, which she also said was partisan. She did not say definitively whether she would vote to convict Trump after a Senate trial in the new case, saying she would need to listen to Trump’s defense.
“But what I will tell you is that what I believe is that this president has committed an impeachable offense through his words on the sixth of January, and leading up to the sixth of January, when he was not honest” about the election and the election results, she told the outlet.
Murkowski also said barring Trump from holding office again “is one of the most consequential actions that we could take, and I think that would be appropriate. Given what we have seen from his actions and his failure to uphold the Constitution.”
Sullivan in a statement said that when a trial is conducted, he will examine the arguments and evidence.
“I will not rush to judgment or make rash statements until this constitutional process has run its course. I will uphold my duties to Alaskans, our fellow Americans and to the Constitution,” he said. “For now, I will continue to focus on helping to facilitate the orderly transition of power and a safe inauguration — our country needs both.”
