WASHINGTON — Politicians from across the DMV spoke their minds following former President Donald Trump's acquittal by the Senate of inciting the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D - MD) released a statement sharing his disappointment with the results on Saturday: "Today, 43 Republican senators chose to ignore the facts, the truth, their responsibility under our Constitution, and their conscience when they voted to allow former President Trump to get away with this horrendous crime."
Rep. Andrew Harris (R - Maryland) stated on his Facebook page that he is glad the trial has come to an end. "The outcome was never in doubt, and the Senate time would have been much better spent on helping unemployed Americans, our suffering small businesses, getting more vaccines, and getting our children back in schools."
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) shared her plans to move forward with a resolution to censure the former president.
"I don't think we can let the final word on Trump be an acquittal that was expected," she explained in an interview with WUSA9. "This was the most bipartisan impeachment in the history of the United States. I think there will be many members of the House and Senate who do not want to let the failure to convict on what appear to be technical grounds be the last word on Donald Trump and his time in office."
House Impeachment Manager and Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin (D) shared his thoughts with reporters after the vote Saturday.
"No number of witnesses demonstrating that Donald Trump continued to incite the insurrectionists even after the invasion of the capitol, would convince them. They wouldn't be convinced," he said of the senators who voted to acquit the former president.
The District's Shadow Senator Paul Strauss (D) praised Rep. Raskin for his work on the impeachment case, tweeting a throwback photo to his days as a law student under his instruction.
Virginia Senator Mark Warner (D) stated via Twitter what kind of message he feels the acquittal sends. "A bipartisan majority of Senators voted today to send a message to future presidents: this kind of conduct is impeachable and disqualifying."
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D - Maryland) questioned fellow congress members who voted not to convict Trump in a released statement.
"To my Republican colleagues who voted to acquit, I ask if Trump’s conduct was not a crime against the Constitution, what is? Make no mistake – they have inflicted lasting harm on our nation in their failure to hold Donald Trump accountable; they have failed the test of history, and that is likely to haunt us in the years ahead."
Fellow Maryland Senator Ben Cardin (D) said everyone responsible for the insurrection should be held accountable - including the former president.
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine (D) shared his intent to vote to convict the former president, along with his thoughts on what the aftermath of an acquittal would mean for the future.
Representative Anthony Brown (D - Maryland) took to Twitter as well to voice his thoughts following the decision. "Trump peddled baseless conspiracies that the election was stolen and fraudulent. Lives were lost because of his lies," he shared. "History will harshly judge both Trump and his enablers for their actions." Fellow Marylander Rep. David Trone (D) shared a similar sentiment via the social media app: "the impeachment managers laid out a clear and convincing case for conviction, supported by a bipartisan majority of Senators . . . Now we must continue to fight for our democracy harder than ever before."
Although acknowledging Trump's acquittal, Representative Bobby Scott (D - Virginia) chose to highlight that a historic number of senators from his own party found him guilty.
Virginia Representative Donald Beyer (D) also spoke of those who voted to acquit Trump on Twitter: "But whether they did it out of partisan loyalty or hid behind process arguments, those who voted “no” know Trump is guilty."
Representative Jennifer Wexton (D - Virginia) shared a similar tweet, "The Senate’s failure to hold the former President accountable is pure cowardice."
Representative Gerry Connolly (D - Virginia) also expressed his disappointment with fellow members of Congress who voted for the acquittal.