Number of House Dems Demanding Impeachment Nears 100 After Mueller’s Testimony -- and Rising
July 28, 2019
(Photo: Joe Flood)
By Dan Desai Martin
The drumbeat for Congress to open an impeachment inquiry continues to grow louder, with 100 members of the House of Representatives now publicly supporting the idea, according to Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA).
“There will be more to come,” he added. Beyer is one of the 100 who support such an inquiry.
In May, Shareblue Media counted 50 members of Congress who said they supported impeachment inquiries, a tally that included a handful of senators.
Just eight weeks later, the number has skyrocketed in the House, with 99 Democrats and one independent, Rep. Justin Amash (MI), who was a Republican until earlier this month.
Calls to start official proceedings looking into possible impeachable offenses by Trump got a boost after special counsel Robert Mueller testified before Congress on Wednesday. During his testimony, Mueller made clear that his report did not exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice allegations; rather, his report laid out evidence that Trump made several attempts to obstruct Mueller’s investigation.
Some of the most recent calls come from freshman Democrats who took over Republican-held seats in the 2018 midterm election.
“We have witnessed [Trump’s] contempt for democratic norms and institutions, including his repeated failure to respond to to legitimate requests for documents and information,” Democrat Rep. Mike Levin, who replaced Rep. Darrell Issa in a California swing district, said recently. “I must now support an impeachment inquiry.”
Levin joins Reps. Katie Porter and Harley Rouda, two other freshmen who flipped California district from red to blue, in calling for such an inquiry.
On Thursday, Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) became the highest-ranking Democrat to support the inquiry. Clark is the vice-chair of the House Democratic Caucus.
And the calls for impeachment span the ideological spectrum as well. Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), former chair of the moderate New Dems, called for an impeachment inquiry in late June.
“From the moment of his inauguration, this President has shown contempt for the truth, has attacked our institutions, and has ignored the Constitution he swore to defend,” Himes said. “I believe an impeachment inquiry will be a fair airing and consideration of the facts that the American people must understand.”
“There are moments for careful calculation,” Himes added. “For weighing political expediency and conflicting interests. And there are moments for clarity and conviction.”
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