As expected, President Donald Trump was acquitted Wednesday by the U.S. Senate on two articles of impeachment.
Now, Pennsylvania’s federal legislators are in agreement on one thing — it’s time for the federal government to get back to work.
U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., said he was pleased the Senate moved quickly to acquit Trump.
“With impeachment now in the rearview mirror, I am hopeful Washington will get back to work and address the most pressing issues we are facing as a country,” Thompson said. “The president addressed the nation (Tuesday) evening and presented a bold vision for the future with items that can be achieved if we can find common ground.”
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey said that while he believes some of Trump’s actions were inappropriate, he could not and did not agree that they rose to the level of removing him from office or preventing him from running again.
“In November, the American people will decide for themselves whether President Trump should stay in office. In our democratic system, that’s the way it should be,” Toomey said.
Now is the time to come together, Thompson said. “It is up to my colleagues to set aside their partisan tendencies and political distractions so we can all get back to doing the people’s work.”
Toomey agreed. “It is my hope that Congress can now move past this extremely partisan and divisive episode and get back to working on issues that will strengthen our economy and make our communities safer.”
While U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., was disappointed with the results of the vote, he, too, called for moving on.
“Now that the president’s trial is concluded, the Senate will return to its regular business,” Casey said. “I was sent to Washington to fight on behalf of working families, children, and seniors who deserve a fair shot at the American Dream.”
He had voted for a guilty verdict, and said he believes that Trump abused his power. He added, “I will not stop working to hold this president accountable.”
Locally, McKean County Democratic Party chair Marty Robacker Wilder was disheartened by the acquittal.
“I’d like to say I’m upset or disappointed but actually I just feel sad,” Wilder said. “Bad enough that Trump deserves impeachment — the facts are incontrovertible — but worse are the cowards in the Republican Party who knowingly enable his criminal conduct.
“This verdict surely confirms what Trump has always believed: He is above the law,” she continued. “This will give him free rein to emulate others on the global stage — Putin, Kim Jong Un, Turkey’s Erdogan and Mohammad bin Salman, to name just a few of his favorite dictators.”
Wilder said, “I’m sad for democracy … and more than a little afraid.”
Where does the nation go from here?
“I honestly don’t know how we move forward in this country,” she said. “When you have two sides which can’t even agree on simple facts, how do we have a discussion about the issues?”
For his part, Ken Kane, chair of the McKean County Republican party, said a good place to start is with civility and respect.
He talked about Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, when Trump introduced the widow of a fallen soldier and her 13-year-old son. “The widow started to be emotional,” Kane said.
“Her son was sitting beside her, put his hand on her upper arm and said ‘are you OK?’ That 13-year-old was more of a man than half the people I watched in that audience,” Kane said.
So many people have lost sight of the fact that people can hold differing opinions or political views and still be civil to each other, he explained.
“The bulk of that whole impeachment proceeding was truly because they don’t like the man, and not because of what he did in his position,” Kane opined. “I base that on history and on what other presidents have done.”
He’s hopeful that American resilience will bring people back together.
“If the United States is not strong, no one within its borders thrives,” he said. “I fear that too many people in our country today are looking for what’s good for me and not what’s good for our country.”
Despite Trump’s brashness, Kane believes he will be re-elected. “He’s really getting a lot done. I know a lot of people that just don’t like him, and I understand that. You do business with people you may not want to sit down and have dinner with. That’s politics, too.”
