U.S. Rep. Ron Kind joined the Wisconsin House delegation’s two other Dems in voting for articles of impeachment charging President Trump abused his office and obstructed congressional investigations.
The two measures passed on a largely party-line vote with the state’s four House Republicans joining two Dems and all 195 of their GOP colleagues present in the chamber in voting against recommending Trump’s removal from office for abusing his power. A third Dem voted against the obstruction charge, while Michigan Independent U.S. Rep. Justin Amash supported both articles and U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawai’i, voted present on both.
Kind was the only member of the delegation — and one of only three in the House — who did not announce how he intended to vote ahead of yesterday evening’s roll calls.
But in a statement released shortly after the votes, Kind said Trump’s dealings with Ukraine amounted to “a flagrant abuse of constitutional power” that “jeopardized our national security.”
“My vote today was not about the President himself—more importantly, it was about defending the rule of law, our Constitution, and what signal we send future presidents of what is acceptable behavior,” he said. “If any president—Democrat or Republican—had committed these offenses, I would have reached the same conclusion.”
Each of the Republican members of the delegation had previously come out in opposition to impeachment. U.S. Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls, and Glenn Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, both gave floor speeches ahead of vote denouncing impeachment. Sensenbrenner labeled the move a politically motivated “charade” while Grothman said impeachment was motivated by Dems’ disdain for the president.
After the votes, fellow Republican U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher and Bryan Steil released statements denouncing the move by the House’s Dem majority.
“The House should get to work on issues impacting Americans: tackling the rising costs of health care, securing our border, and addressing our national debt,” said Steil, R-Janesville,
Gallagher, R-Green Bay, knocked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying the California Dem “rushed this process, moved the goal posts, and failed to live up to her own words about the gravity of impeachment.”
“The fact that the bipartisan vote was actually against impeachment should come as no surprise given this flawed process and lack of clear evidence,” he said.
But U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, countered the move to impeach Trump “sets the precedent for all future presidents—Democrat or Republican.”
“In his long life, Donald J. Trump has never been held accountable for his actions,” Pocan said. “Today, Democrats sent a clear signal to this president and all future presidents: No one is above the law.”
See the final votes:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2019/roll695.xml
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2019/roll696.xml
See Kind’s statement:
https://www.wispolitics.com/2019/u-s-rep-kind-votes-for-articles-of-impeachment/
See Steil’s statement:
https://www.wispolitics.com/2019/u-s-rep-steil-votes-against-impeaching-president-trump/
See Gallagher’s statement:
https://www.wispolitics.com/2019/u-s-rep-gallagher-a-state-of-perpetual-impeachment-must-not-become-the-new-normal/
See Pocan’s statement:
https://www.wispolitics.com/2019/u-s-rep-pocan-a-vote-that-sets-the-precedent-for-all-future-presidents/
