This Washington Republican voted to impeach Trump. Now he’s helping others who voted same way
Rep. Dan Newhouse’s fundraiser next month will feature “special guest” Rep. David Valadao — a House Republican colleague who joined Newhouse in supporting President Donald Trump’s impeachment.
Ten House Republicans, including Newhouse of Sunnyside and California’s Valadao, backed impeachment in January, while 197 Republicans opposed it.. Valadao’s political action committee has given contributions this year to eight of those Republicans.
The renegade Republicans are under fire from Trump and his backers, often facing primary challenges and tough rhetoric.
Derek Flint, Newhouse’s campaign spokesman, said the Valadao appearance has nothing to do with the impeachment vote. Valadao and Newhouse know each other well because they’re both on the House Appropriations Committee.
Flint explained that the fundraiser is an annual event and both congressmen are “part of the small group of representatives who actually operate working farms.”
Newhouse, a former state Director of Agriculture, was first elected to the House in 2014. He easily won re-election in 2020, and Trump carried the district by 19 points.
Newhouse said he voted to impeach Trump because “a vote against this impeachment is a vote to validate the unacceptable violence we witnessed in our nation’s capital.
“It is also a vote to condone President Trump’s inaction. He did not strongly condemn the attack nor did he call in reinforcements when our officers were overwhelmed. Our country needed a leader, and President Trump failed to fulfill his oath of office,” he said.
He was one of two Washington Republicans voting for impeachment. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Battle Ground also voted yes, explaining, “The President of the United States incited a riot aiming to halt the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next.”
The vote carried political risks. Loren Culp, the Republican who lost to Gov. Jay Inslee in November, has announced plans to challenge Newhouse in 2022 for Washington’s 4th congressional district. The district covers central Washington, from Benton County to Okanogan County and the Canadian border.
Herrera Beutler represents Washington’s 3rd congressional district, which spans southwestern Washington including Vancouver and Chehalis. She’s also expected to face Republican challengers next year.
Newhouse’s New Energy in Washington House PAC has given $1,000 each this year to campaigns of colleagues who voted to impeach: Fred Upton and Peter Meijer of Michigan, Tom Rice of South Carolina, John Katko of New York, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Valadao and Herrera Beutler.
Valadao has also been contributing to Republicans who voted yes.
A month after the January impeachment vote, Valadao’s Vitoria PAC gave $1,000 each to campaigns or political committees that in recent years have been associated with eight of the nine Republicans other than him who voted to impeach: Upton, Meijer, Rice, Katko, Kinzinger, Gonzalez, Herrera Beutler and Newhouse.
The only House GOP impeachment supporter who did not get a contribution was Cheney. She’s currently the third-ranking House Republican, but there’s a strong push among other House leaders—and Trump— to oust her. Valadao will not comment on that effort.
Cheney’s Cowboy PAC gave Valadao $5,000 on March 30.
Valadao’s PAC made contributions to four other Republicans during the first three months of 2021. It gave $2,500 to Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and $2,000 to Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska.
Both voted against impeachment but were among nine House Republicans co-sponsoring an unsuccessful measure to censure Trump for “trying to unlawfully overturn the 2020 presidential election and violating his oath of office on January 6, 2021.
Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif., a freshman who voted against impeachment, got $1,500. She explained in a statement “The wounds caused by the act of terror we saw last week will not be healed by impeaching President Trump.”
Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., running in a special election in March, received $1,000.
Valadao received contributions from several other impeachment supporters. Political committees with ties to Kinzinger gave him $5,000 for the primary and another $5,000 for the general election.
Other donations came from PACs or campaigns that have been associated with Newhouse, $1,000; Upton, $2,000; Rice, $3,500 and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to find Trump guilty, $2,500.
Valadao’s campaign has received a total of $24,000 from the House members who voted for impeachment and a senator who voted to find Trump guilty. He got another $4,500 from two congressmen who co-sponsored a bid to censure Trump.
California Republican consultant Matt Rexroad did not see Valadao’s alliance with fellow impeachment supporters as a problem, particularly since the congressman often gets support from voters other than Republicans.
“He holds an incredibly difficult seat. He is our best chance and probably only chance to hold that seat,” Rexroad said.
Valadao’s campaign would not discuss the contributions.
Shortly after taking office in January, Valadao voted to impeach Trump, explaining that the president was “without question, a driving force in the catastrophic events that took place on Jan. 6 by encouraging masses of rioters to incite violence” as they stormed the Capitol..
“His inciting rhetoric was un-American, abhorrent, and absolutely an impeachable offense. It’s time to put country over politics,” Valadao said.
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