More House Dems Shift Towards Potential Impeachment After Trump Ukraine Call Reports
More House Democrats are moving closer to supporting impeachment in the wake of reporting on President Donald Trump‘s call with the president of Ukraine.
Politico reports that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing increased pressure to pursue impeachment, and just today several Democrats indicated their support if the reporting on Trump’s call is accurate:
Freshman Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota became the first centrist lawmaker to announce support for Trump’s ouster if the president did indeed encourage the Ukrainian government to investigate his political rival.
“If the reports are corroborated, we must pursue articles of impeachment and report them to the full House of Representatives for immediate consideration,” Phillips said in a statement that quickly went viral.
Phillips was followed quickly by another swing-district Democrat — Rep. Angie Craig, also of Minnesota…
Two long-time Pelosi allies, Reps. John Larson and Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, also said Monday night that they would back impeachment proceedings if Trump does not comply with congressional oversight demands.
And they’re not the only ones:
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez: "I don't think we have a choice. Under the Constitution we must move forward with impeachment proceedings. I don't think we'll have much of a choice." pic.twitter.com/mY0FbEYjZb
— The Hill (@thehill) September 24, 2019
This country is divided. We cannot be divided on the rule of law. As an elected official my oath is to protect national security and the Constitution.
After recent revelations, I support an impeachment inquiry because we must follow the facts and hold the President accountable.
— Rep. Debbie Dingell (@RepDebDingell) September 24, 2019
And on top of everything else, there’s the Washington Post op-ed co-signed by seven freshmen House Democrats with national security backgrounds saying “this flagrant disregard for the law cannot stand”:
If these allegations are true, we believe these actions represent an impeachable offense. We do not arrive at this conclusion lightly, and we call on our colleagues in Congress to consider the use of all congressional authorities available to us, including the power of “inherent contempt” and impeachment hearings, to address these new allegations, find the truth and protect our national security.
There is a Democratic caucus meeting taking place tomorrow, per multiple reports, and though Pelosi has been publicly resistant to impeachment as recently as last week, the Post reports tonight she has “been quietly sounding out top allies and lawmakers about whether the time has come to impeach President Trump.” According to the Daily Beast, some members are floating the idea of forming a select panel to tackle impeachment.
[image via Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images]
