Only Two Republicans Who Impeached Trump Have Spoken Out on His Indictment

Nearly everyone in Washington, D.C., seemed to have something to say after former President Donald Trump's Tuesday indictment on four felony charges connected to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the lead-up to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Everyone, it seems, except the past and present Republican members of Congress who voted to impeach and convict him more than two years ago on near-identical allegations.

As Republicans fumed and Democrats celebrated, just one of the 10 Republican representatives who voted for Trump's impeachment while in Congress—former Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger—issued a public statement commenting on the president's indictment, describing it as "the beginning of justice."

While several of the 10—former Ohio Representative Anthony Gonzalez, Washington state's Jaime Herrera Beutler, retired New York Representative John Katko, former Michigan Representative Fred Upton and former South Carolina Representative Tom Rice—are no longer active on social media, others who are, like former Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, still had not released a statement as of Wednesday morning. Newsweek reached out to Cheney's office via email for comment.

Meanwhile, active members of Congress who voted for impeachment had little to say Wednesday. A similar story played out among the Republicans who voted to uphold Trump's impeachment in the Senate.

Though a handful—Richard Burr of North Carolina, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and recently appointed University of Florida President Ben Sasse of Nebrfaska—have largely disengaged from politics since leaving Capitol Hill, four of the seven GOP senators who voted to convict Trump are still active in politics yet had little to say about his latest indictment.

While one of the members to stay silent Wednesday—Utah Senator Mitt Romney—still faces the prospect of a tough reelection battle in his Trump-leaning state in 2024, Louisiana's Bill Cassidy and Maine's Susan Collins do not yet still declined to weigh in.

Just one, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski—who has a reputation for criticizing elements she sees as unsavory within her party—ultimately released an official statement on Trump's indictment.

"In early 2021, I voted to impeach former President Trump based on clear evidence that he attempted to overturn the 2020 election after losing it," she wrote. "Additional evidence presented since then, including by the January 6 Commission, has only reinforced that the former President played a key role in instigating the riots, resulting in physical violence and desecration of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

"Today, the former President has been indicted on four criminal counts. Like all Americans, he is innocent until proven guilty and will have his day in court. As that process begins, I encourage everyone to read the indictment, to understand the very serious allegations being made in this case."