washington business
Ten Republicans voted to impeach President Trump . Only two will be returning to Congress next year . You must have known when you took that vote that it might cost you your office . What did you learn from that experience and looking back , would you have done anything differently ?
I definitely knew that it could cost me . I remember having that conversation with one of my team members . I really wrestled with it . It was a week from January 6th to the impeachment vote . I was in a fact-finding mode . I was talking to lawyers , I was talking to constitutionalists , I was reading as much as I could , the history of impeachment votes . I talked to everybody I could to try and get as much information . I really wanted to make a decision that was fair and dispassionate and just . As I was making a decision , I remember one of my team members saying , there ’ s no guarantee you can win if you do this .
And I was like , yep , you ’ re right . But that doesn ’ t change that I believe it still needs to be done . It ’ s really not that difficult . I know people will agree and disagree , good people disagree with me on that and I completely respect their opinion . But as someone who swore an oath to the Constitution , as I read the Constitution , impeachment is a grand jury . It ’ s not a conviction . It just says evidence is there to take it to a trial . Well , there was definitely enough evidence that I lived through that to me said this definitely needs to go to a trial . And that ’ s all impeachment is . So , I have no regrets about that vote . I wouldn ’ t change it .
What would you tell your party about how it could successfully compete again on the “ left coast ”?
I think honestly those in my party who are in leadership — and I don ’ t mean grassroots , I mean elected officials — they know exactly what they need to do . I wouldn ’ t be giving anybody any news flash to say that you have to be districtfocused , not nationally focused . But very few people want to do the hard work of getting into the trenches and oftentimes telling people the truth versus when you can take the easy route and just go with the flow and not stand up to those in our party who are becoming increasingly isolationist , increasingly nationally focused versus district or state or regionally focused . You feel this momentum . The hard thing to do is to stick your head up and say , “ Hey , wait a minute . We ’ re the party of free enterprise . We ’ re the party of free and fair trade . We ’ re the party who believes in limited government and low spending . We ’ re the party who stands up for democracy here or in other places . That ’ s who we are .” Everybody knows that ’ s what needs to be done . Whether or not we ’ re going to see people of courage do that , I think remains to be seen .
Would you run for your seat again in two years ?
Right now , I have no plans beyond being a mom to my three amazing children . And I will continue to serve in whatever capacity I can . But right now , it ’ s as private citizen Jaime Herrera Beutler .
Do you have other career plans , other than being a mom , anything that you ’ re thinking about doing in the near future ?
I am exploring that right now . It ’ s a little intimidating because there are so many different things you can do and try . For me , I ’ ve always been causedriven . I ’ m trying to find something that will allow me to be centered in the
Northwest . And I ’ ve got to get paid for it because I ’ m only 44 . I think a lot of people in Congress are older and if they retire or lose , they go back to retirement . That ’ s the other thing for me , I had all three of my children while serving . I got married and our first year of marriage was a run , so to speak . I ’ ve built my entire family while serving . Cathy McMorris Rodgers and I are the only ones who ’ ve ever had three children while serving . And I will say it ’ s not for the faint of heart . Our husbands are the reason we ’ ve been able to do this , because they ’ ve both been willing to put themselves on hold to allow us to serve . We have managed to do it . We have managed to both do the job . I say we — my husband and I . But that is something that I ’ m looking forward to in this next season . I get to be mom .
20 association of washington business