Democrats Rally After Partisan Impeachment Vote, Say GOP’s Lack of Support Is ‘Disappointing’

Democrat lawmakers rallied after passing an impeachment inquiry resolution on Thursday, with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) expressing disappointment in Republicans for refusing to support their partisan-driven effort.

Every single Republican voted against what Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) described as a “Soviet-style” impeachment process on Thursday, 232-196. Only two Democrats, Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ), joined them.

Democrats rallied following the passage of the resolution, which Republicans say does nothing to address their concerns moving forward. Rather, the resolution gives House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Democrats unprecedented power throughout the process– a process that was never authorized by a full House vote.

Hoyer expressed disappointment in Republicans who voted against what they described as a “sham” resolution.

“It is disappointing that Republicans voted against this resolution today, consistent with their refusal to defend the Constitution & uphold their oath of office,” Hoyer wrote.

“House Democrats will continue to seek the facts on behalf of the American people regarding the POTUS’s abuse of power,” he continued:

It is disappointing that Republicans voted against this resolution today, consistent with their refusal to defend the Constitution & uphold their oath of office. House Democrats will continue to seek the facts on behalf of the American people regarding the POTUS’s abuse of power.

— Steny Hoyer (@LeaderHoyer) October 31, 2019

Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) celebrated the resolution’s passage, asserting that Trump did, in fact, pressure a foreign government to “interfere in our 2020 presidential elections for his own political gain”:

It is time the impeachment proceedings move to the next phase. It is time to publicly present the facts surrounding how @realdonaldtrump pressured a foreign government to interfere in our 2020 presidential elections for his own political gain. We must #DefendOurDemocracy.

— Rep Frederica Wilson (@RepWilson) October 31, 2019

“The President’s misconduct makes today’s impeachment resolution necessary,” Schiff wrote:

The President’s misconduct makes today’s impeachment resolution necessary.

To honor our oath to the Constitution.
To honor the rule of law.
To hold this President accountable.
And show that nobody is above the law.

Not even the President of the United States. pic.twitter.com/AYH2Gmo7Gt

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) October 31, 2019

“Time and again, Trump has endangered our national security and betrayed the Constitution. The nature of his crimes is serious and warrants a full and complete investigation by Congress,” Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) assessed:

Time and again, Trump has endangered our national security and betrayed the Constitution. The nature of his crimes is serious and warrants a full and complete investigation by Congress.

— Ruben Gallego (@RepRubenGallego) October 31, 2019

The American people need to hear the full extent of President Trump’s abuse of power, and moving forward with open hearings will allow us to continue to get to the bottom of what happened.

— Ruben Gallego (@RepRubenGallego) October 31, 2019

“I just voted to establish procedures for open hearings in the impeachment investigation,” Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), a self-described member of the “resistance,” wrote.

“Every Republican voted NO. They don’t want the American people to hear the truth about the President’s crimes,” she added:

I just voted to establish procedures for open hearings in the impeachment investigation.
Every Republican voted NO. They don’t want the American people to hear the truth about the President’s crimes.
you can read the resolution here: https://t.co/sWSazSgF5a pic.twitter.com/AHSceP36pU

— Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) October 31, 2019

More:

The President will be held accountable because no one is above the law. #DefendOurDemocracy #ForThePeoplehttps://t.co/bO1AkpYsTE

— Rep. Lois Frankel (@RepLoisFrankel) October 31, 2019

It is clear that Donald Trump endangered our national security and undermined our democracy when he continually asked various foreign governments to interfere with our elections.

— Rep. Marc Veasey (@RepVeasey) October 31, 2019

Today I voted in favor of H.Res.660, which establishes the procedures for open hearings in the impeachment inquiry so the American people can hear from first-hand witnesses what transpired between President Trump and Ukraine. Here is my full statement: pic.twitter.com/LYvZkbxuWI

— Rep. Stephen Lynch (@RepStephenLynch) October 31, 2019

I didn’t come to Congress to impeach anyone, but we swore to defend the Constitution against all enemies. Turning a blind eye to the President’s betrayal of our country dishonors that oath. This resolution will lead to hearings to establish the truth for the American people. 5/5

— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) October 31, 2019

These are somber & serious times. Today we voted to define guidelines & rules for the next phase of the impeachment inquiry into the President’s misconduct. We now have a path forward for fair and transparent public hearings.

— Rep. Suzan DelBene (@RepDelBene) October 31, 2019

Today we are exercising the power of our constitution.

Today we are using our power as legislators to follow the facts, to use the constitution as our guide and to hold this president fully accountable to his blatant abuse of the rule of law. ✊🏽pic.twitter.com/hus5VsG7NR

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) October 31, 2019

Statement from @RepJayapal after impeachment vote: “The President of the United States inviting a foreign ally to interfere in our elections—using taxpayer dollars as leverage—is a gross abuse of power and a betrayal of our Constitution, values and national security.” pic.twitter.com/cs0jUfO1RY

— Jim Brunner (@Jim_Brunner) October 31, 2019

Breaking news: we just took a big step to:
✔️Uphold the rule of law.
✔️Protect our Democracy.
✔️Hold the President accountable. https://t.co/XixIrwJ4aX

— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) October 31, 2019

When the constitution is under attack, when the fairness of our elections are compromised by an abuse of presidential power, we have the solemn responsibility to act. To do nothing would imperil our very democracy.

— Rep. Gregory Meeks (@RepGregoryMeeks) October 31, 2019

These are somber & serious times. Today we voted to define guidelines & rules for the next phase of the impeachment inquiry into the President’s misconduct. We now have a path forward for fair and transparent public hearings.

— Rep. Suzan DelBene (@RepDelBene) October 31, 2019

Republicans banded together following the contentious vote, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) pointing out that the only bipartisan vote on Thursday “was AGAINST impeachment”:

BREAKING ⇒ 100% of Republicans just voted AGAINST this sham impeachment. Two Democrats joined us.

Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Schiff have both insisted that impeachment should be bipartisan. The only bipartisan vote today was AGAINST impeachment.

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) October 31, 2019

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