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After a contentious week in Washington D.C. following the riot at the U.S. Capitol, President Donald Trump became the first president in history to be impeached twice, this time on the charge of "incitement of insurrection."
The final vote was 232-197. Ten U.S. House Republicans voted "yes" to the impeachment—not one was from Texas.
This is how Austin-area members of congress voted on impeachment:
- Michael McCaul (R), 10th district, against
- Pete Sessions (R), 17th, against
- Chip Roy (R), 21st, against
- Roger Williams (R), 25th, against
- John Carter (R), 31st, against
- Lloyd Doggett (D), 35th, for
The vote will now be taken to the Senate, which will make the final decision on whether or not Trump should be convicted. Texas Senators have been very vocal about where they stand on the matter.
Junior Senator Ted Cruz (R), was one of the six Senators who voted to reject the Electoral College votes. Cruz has shown support for Trump previously, despite running for president against him in 2016.
Though Cruz did condemn the violence at the U.S. Capitol, his track record says he is likely to vote no on impeachment.
Senior Senator John Cornyn (R), voted to certify the votes on Biden's win, stating that he did not want to vote for Trump's win "based on unproven allegations." However, Cornyn's certification letter praised Trump for what he believed were a multitude of successes during his presidency.
Earlier in the afternoon, the Associated Press reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would not approve the motion to hold an emergency session for the impeachment trial. As a result, the trial likely won't get underway until Jan.19, the day before President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, but if the vote is yes, it would stop a future Trump bid for president.
So where did Texas Representatives stand?
In the debate earlier today, Rep. Chip Roy (R), who represents the 21st district, said he believes Trump's actions to incite an insurrection were unconstitutional, but he still didn't vote to impeach him.
Roy said he believes the verbiage used in the articles of impeachment is harmful and will have negative repercussions in the future of free political speech.
"The president of the United States deserves universal condemnation for what was clearly, in my opinion, impeachable conduct, pressuring the Vice President to violate his oath of the Constitution to count the electors," Roy said. "Unfortunately, my Democratic colleagues have drafted articles that I believe are flawed and unsupportable. ... Danger for open speech and debate in this body and for the republic is high if the house approves the articles as written"
Earlier in the afternoon, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D), who represents the 35th district, said the events on Jan. 6 were a reprehensible, "desperate" attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.
During the debate, Doggett said he was demanding that the president be held accountable for his contributions.
"For years, Donald Trump has honored thugs worldwide who suppress democracy. For months, with a daily diet of lies, he has made clear his refusal to accept any election in which he was not the winner," Doggett said. "America, we did stop the steal. We stopped Donald Trump from stealing our democracy and imposing himself as a tyrant."
Though Roy and Doggett were the only representatives involved in the debate at the time of writing, other Texas Representatives gave hints as to how they would vote last week.
Rep. Roger Williams (R), who represents the 25th district, was one of the officials who voted to overturn the Electoral College results.
Rep. Pete Sessions (R), representing the 17th district, has been at the forefront on the "Stop the Steal" campaign and voted to overturn Electoral College results.
Rep. John Carter (R), representing the 31st district, condemned the storming of the U.S. Capitol the same day on Twitter, saying all offenders should be "prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Peaceful protests are a fundamental right in the United States, but violence is absolutely unacceptable. Respect… https://t.co/RaghVT7YL4— Judge Carter (@Judge Carter) 1609963886.0
Rep. Michael McCaul (R), representing the 10th district, also condemned the attack on the Capitol the same day on Twitter, saying he was disappointed that Trump was not reelected, but that the violence was "disgraceful and has to end."
Let me be clear, anyone who breached the Capitol today, or participated in the violence, should be arrested and pro… https://t.co/z1mD8efZnQ— Michael McCaul (@Michael McCaul) 1609965174.0
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Over a year after they took the stage for the first time in Los Angeles, Austin FC returned to Banc of America Stadium to snatch the No. 1 spot from LAFC in a 2-1 statement win late Wednesday night.
Austin FC, which has flirted with the top spot in the MLS West this season, has now solidly reached the summit just a year after its second-to-last first season finish. The new top dogs are now 7-2-3 overall.
Here's a look at three highlights from the match:
Flashback in LA
For many Austin FC fans and naysayers alike, the match was more than a fight for the MLS West throne: it also served as a symbol of how far the team has come.
The two clubs first met on the Banc of America pitch as Austin FC saw its first game and first loss all at once in a 2-0 battle last April. It was an exciting but shaky start to the club's first season, and the loss seemed to set the tone for the rest of its inaugural year as the club dipped to second to last in the conference.
If Austin's first season was hallmarked by its first match, then its second-year success was foretold by its back-to-back five-goal victories to kick off the season.
Since then, the club has battled its own first-year shadow, claims of "bonus games" and a few unexpected obstacles—both on and off the pitch—but it has almost always come out on top.
That fight to the top was fully realized Wednesday, even as the club played its toughest opponent yet. Even with a man down in the middle due to Daniel Pereira's red card last game, the club kept its cool through even the trickiest moments of the match. Jhojan Valencia, who patched the Pereira hole in midfield, got his first MLS start and first MLS assist as Ruben Gabrielsen scored the first goal of the game.
Gabrielsen's goal
Nice turn and finish.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 19, 2022
Ruben Gabrielsen opens the scoring in LA for @AustinFC. pic.twitter.com/OMdTYgqS1x
Gabrielsen came to Austin FC as a potential hero for the team's center back position, but the club's resident Viking has already nabbed two goals in his first season with the team.
"That's center forward material," Austin FC announcer Adrian Healey said as Gabrielsen took control of Valencia's pass, paused to fake out the defense, and calmly tucked the ball into the left corner to complete the first goal of the match.
Feel-good Fagundez
🗣️ @AustinFC is off and running!@DiegolFagundez finds the short corner to make it a 2-0 lead in LA. pic.twitter.com/jgUr2IJQNe
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 19, 2022
Even as LAFC dominated possession for much of the match, Austin FC saw another wide-open goal opportunity crumble as midfielder Diego Fagundez's shot hit the corner goalpost in the 23rd minute.
But Fagundez wasn't finished. The midfielder was short on his Verde hair dye but full of surprises as he nimbly sunk a shot over LAFC defense to make it 2-0 with 10 minutes to go.
Fagundez, who has spent more time setting up goals for his teammates (becoming the No. 1 assister in the MLS in the process), finally took the center stage with his second goal this season.
Owen Wolff, head coach Josh Wolff's own son, had a scoring opportunity of his own foiled by the goalpost as he started his first MLS match as one of the youngest starters in the league this season.
But Austin FC wouldn't score again; instead, LAFC powerhouse Carlos Vela made the win a bit trickier in the 86th minute as he got past Austin keeper Brad Stuver to cut the lead in half. The other Wolff quickly subbed in a five-prong defense as the club kept steady for the final 10 painstaking minutes to win the match.
BONUS: Stuver's career-making match
Six saves on the night in LA for Brad Stuver! 🚫 pic.twitter.com/02V6hcUd3Y
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 19, 2022
After two weeks on the bench due to a knee gash, Austin's star keeper Brad Stuver had the Stuver-iest match of all time (yes, we're making it a word) as he pulled off six saves to help his team to No. 1.
Stuver looked like a pinball machine as he pulled off save after save with his feet, hands and body to keep it nearly 100% clean on the back end.
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