Tennessee's House members split along party lines on impeaching President Donald Trump

Joel Ebert | Nashville Tennessean

Show Caption Hide Caption The House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Trump The House approved both articles President Trump was being accused of for impeachment, making him the third impeached president in U.S. history.

Members of Tennessee's congressional delegation predictably fell along party lines Wednesday when the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump.

The state's seven Republicans rejected both articles of impeachment while Tennessee's two Democrats cast yes votes.

Overall, the chamber voted 230 to 197, largely along party lines, on the first article of impeachment, which was related to abuse of power.

The chamber voted 229 to 198 on the second article of impeachment, which related to obstructing Congress. The vote on the second article was also largely along party lines.

IMPEACHMENT: House impeaches President Trump in historic vote, setting the stage for Senate trial

With Wednesday's vote, Trump became just the third president in American history to be impeached.

Tennessee's Republican members — Reps. Tim Burchett, Scott DesJarlais, Chuck Fleischmann, Mark Green, David Kustoff, Phil Roe and John Rose — voted against both impeachment articles.

The Democrats — Reps. Jim Cooper and Steve Cohen, who previously voted for the articles as a member of the House judiciary committee — cast yes votes.

Ahead of Wednesday's impeachment debate on the House floor, Tennessee's delegation gave several indications, including on social media and while speaking on the floor, about how they would vote, leaving little room for surprise.

The chamber began voting on the impeachment articles shortly after 7 p.m. CST.

When the House last considered impeachment — against President Bill Clinton in 1998 — the state's lawmakers similarly voted along party lines. During that impeachment vote, Tennessee's delegation consisted of five Republicans and four Democrats, who voted against impeaching the president.

But unlike the Clinton impeachment, when members of both political parties said they supported an impeachment inquiry, Tennessee's Republicans panned the current probe of Trump.

In a post on social media, Rose said the day's action would be a "partisan exercise" and a fulfillment of Democrats' desire to undercut the results of the 2016 election.

"They have no grounds and the process that we followed in the House over the last many weeks has been an affront to our Constitution," he said.

Green also took to social media to lambaste the proceedings, arguing, "There's really no crime."

Roe called it a "sad day" while labeling the impeachment process unfair.

Prior to voting, Tennessee's delegation, including Roe, weighed in on impeachment with brief remarks.

Kustoff summed up the inquiry, saying, "There was no bribery, there was no extortion, there was no quid pro quo, there was no high crimes and misdemeanors committed by the president."

Burchett called the impeachment effort "a sham" while criticizing Congress for "wasting time."

Fleischmann said his "heart aches for this Republic" while calling for the country's two main political parties to settle their differences "politically."

Democrats had a significantly different message.

“Like all of you, I took an oath to support and to defend the Constitution," Cohen said. "I urge my colleagues to abide by that oath and stand up to President Trump’s abuse of power and obstruction of Congress."

Cohen urged Republicans to "appeal to your patriotism and implore you to defend free and fair elections and preserve the Constitution."

In a lengthy statement ahead of the vote, Cooper referenced the late-Sen. Howard Baker, R-Tennessee, in voicing his support for impeachment.

“The Tennessee — and the U.S. — model for proper behavior during impeachment is the late Tennessee Senator Howard Baker, a lifelong Republican who had the courage to take down Richard Nixon, a president of his own party, once he learned the truth," he said.

"Baker, aided by Tennessee lawyer Fred Thompson (who later became a Republican U.S. Senator in his own right), thoroughly investigated Nixon and then, when they found evidence of wrongdoing, favored impeachment. Nixon, of course, then quickly resigned the presidency before being impeached."

Cooper said today Republicans are "so afraid of Trump's supports that they are not publicly curious, although they often conclude, privately, that he’s guilty."

After the chamber voted on both impeachment articles, DesJarlais said in a statement, "The Radical Left may have succeeded in impeaching Donald Trump this time, on a purely partisan vote, but have failed to convince Americans this is anything other than a stunt to distract from their socialist agenda and weak presidential candidates – the real abuse of power."

The House's vote to impeach Trump sends the two articles to the Senate, which is expected to consider the matter when Congress returns in January.

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Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.