Freshmen Texas Democrats say they’ll vote to impeach Trump
After over a year and a half of balancing act, Fletcher plans to vote yes on both articles
WASHINGTON — Freshman Rep. Lizzie Fletcher is one of a handful of Texas moderates in Congress who have approached impeachment cautiously, but she said Friday she’s finally seen enough.
“When the articles of impeachment are presented in the
House, I will vote yes on both,” Fletcher, a Democrat, said in a statement, joining several other Democrats representing swing districts who say they plan to support impeachment regardless of potential backlash as they seek re-election next year.
“I have faith in our Constitution, in our country, and in our community,” she said. “And it is my view, voting yes is consistent with that faith — faith in an America of, by, and for the people.”
Impeachment has been a balancing act for Fletcher since before she beat Republican John Culberson in the west Houston district last year. In the 2018 primary, she faced a progressive who vowed to impeach on “Day One.” Fletcher called for patience then and kept it up for more than a year and a half.
Still, Fletcher was key in pushing House Speaker Nancy
to open the impeachment inquiry. At that time, she joined a cadre of freshmen Democrats who flipped Republican-held districts in 2018 in supporting the House inquiry into President Donald Trump’s dealings in Ukraine. But she also emphasized that while she supported the inquiry, she had not made up her mind about it.
Now that articles of impeachment against Trump are headed for a vote in the House next week, Fletcher is again voting along with the same group of freshmen, many of whom are supporting impeachment.
Meanwhile, Republicans call the proceedings a farce that has uncovered no evidence of wrongdoing by the president. They have made it clear that they will attack Democrats for their impeachment votes in 2020 — especially those who claim to be moderates.
“In my lifetime, the question of whether to impeach a President has been put to the House of Representatives only one time before,”
Fletcher said, in explaining her position. “It is the responsibility of Congress to investigate the President’s conduct with the seriousness and fairness it requires. I believe that the House of Representatives has done so. And in evaluating the questions now before me, I have done the same, examining the evidence and the Constitution.”
Most Texans in Congress — including Republican U.S. Rep. Will Hurd of San Antonio — appear to be sticking to party lines.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, a moderate freshman from Dallas who like Fletcher flipped a longtime Republican district, said on Friday he would support impeachment.
“After reviewing the evidence and testimony it is clear the President engaged in an abuse of his authority, putting himself above the law, and his personal interests above the nation’s,” Allred said in a statement, calling it a “somber moment for our nation.”
Republicans immediately hammered Allred, citing polls from Quinnipiac University and Monmouth
University indicating Americans aren’t sold on impeachment. The National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting both Fletcher and Allred in 2020.
“Colin Allred ran on a promise to get results for Texans, but all he’s focused on in Washington is his deranged quest to remove President Trump from office,” NRCC spokesman Bob Salera said. “Allred is a partisan hack and will be voted out next November.”
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate South Texas Democrat with a long histoPelosi ry of working with Republicans, is among the biggest remaining question marks in the Texas delegation. His office would not comment beyond pointing to a statement he issued in September in support of the inquiry that said “if investigations prove that impeachment
is the necessary course of action, then I will be forced to act on impeachment proceedings.”
Democrats have leveled two charges against Trump: abuse of power when he withheld military aid from Ukraine while pushing the government to investigate political rival and former Vice President Joe Biden, and obstruction of Congress when he stonewalled House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.
Texans on the House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines on Friday. Texas Democrats, including U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvia Garcia of Houston and Veronica Escobar of El Paso emerged as some of the most forceful advocates for impeachment during a marathon 14hour hearing Thursday.
Texas Republicans, including U.S. Reps. Louie Gohmert and John Ratcliffe, were among Trump’s fiercest defenders on the committee.
The House is expected to vote on impeachment Wednesday.