Earlier today, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives took two notable votes: 1) 230-198 to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress for refusing to provide documents regarding the proposed U.S. Census citizenship question; 2) 332-95 to table a motion on impeaching President Donald Trump. On the contempt of Congress vote, it was 229-4 among Democrats (all Democrats in the Virginia delegation voted “yea”), 194 Republicans voting against it. On the impeachment vote, 194 Republicans voted to table it, along with 137 Democrats (all Democrats in the Virginia delegation), while 95 Democrats voted not to table it (e.g., they wanted to proceed with impeachment). See below for statements by Rep. Don Beyer on the impeachment vote, and Rep. Jennifer Wexton on the contempt vote. I’ll add more statements if/when I see them.
Beyer Statement On Impeachment Resolution Vote
July 17, 2019 (Washington, D.C.) – Rep. Beyer issued the following to statement today on his vote for a motion to table Rep. Al Green’s resolution which would refer one article of impeachment against President Trump for racist tweets directly to the U.S. Senate:
“I strongly support an impeachment inquiry into the conduct of President Trump. I voted to table H. Res. 489 because it would effectively prevent the House from conducting such an inquiry.
“I believe that we have substantial evidence, both in the Mueller Report and elsewhere, that the President has committed obstruction of justice and potentially other high crimes and misdemeanors. Such acts clearly meet the standard for impeachment which the Founders laid out in the Constitution, and we have a duty to act on them and establish the truth for the American people.
“This resolution, however, does not address those acts by the President. If successful it would immediately initiate an impeachment trial in the Senate solely to consider whether the President should be removed from office for the racist tweets which he wrote earlier this week. I have been vocal in my condemnation of those tweets and his other racist statements and actions, but I do not believe this is the best way forward on impeachment.
“It is imperative that the House of Representatives have the ability to investigate and establish the facts, build the evidence required to educate the public about the President’s wrongdoing, and put ourselves in a position to make the strongest possible case to the Senate before voting on articles of impeachment. We must bring forward our best evidence on obstruction, emoluments violations, and other potential crimes – not simply focus on the President’s latest horrible remarks, harmful though they are. I worry that the House of Representatives would forfeit its vital role in this process if today’s resolution passed.
“I will continue to advocate for an impeachment inquiry including investigatory hearings, document production, and witness testimony which we need to fully and fairly evaluate the case for impeaching President Trump.”
Rep. Beyer called for an impeachment inquiry into the conduct of President Trump in May.
A cabinet secretary and the Attorney General of the United States refused to comply with Congressional subpoenas, and we’re holding them accountable.
No one is above the law in America—that includes Secretary Ross and AG Barr.https://t.co/TRJ2EyRdwJ
— Rep. Jennifer Wexton (@RepWexton) July 17, 2019
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