‘I will vote to impeach this president’: Republican officially backs Trump’s impeachment

As backlash continues to grow against Donald Trump for inciting sedition, a central New York Republican is officially joining the impeachment bandwagon.

"U.S. Rep. John Katko said today he will vote to impeach President Donald Trump for inciting a riot last week at the U.S. Capitol. Katko, R-NY, is the first House Republican to acknowledge that he will join at least 218 House Democrats who signed onto an impeachment resolution. A vote is expected Wednesday, a week before President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn into office," the Syracuse Post-Standard reported Tuesday.

The newspaper quoted a statement from the Republican lawmaker.

"To allow the president of the United States to incite this attack without consequence is a direct threat to the future of our democracy," Katko said. "For that reason, I cannot sit by without taking action. I will vote to impeach this president.

"It cannot be ignored that President Trump encouraged this insurrection – both on social media ahead of January 6th, and in his speech that day," Katko said. "By deliberately promoting baseless theories suggesting the election was somehow stolen, the president created a combustible environment of misinformation, disenfranchisement, and division. When this manifested in violent acts on January 6th, he refused to promptly and forcefully call it off, putting countless lives in danger."

In 2019, Katko joined with his GOP colleagues as the House Republican Caucus voted unanimously against impeachment. He endorsed Trump's unsuccessful 2020 re-election bid.