Of the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, 226 have said that they are for an impeachment inquiry or impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump as they accuse him, based on a whistleblower complaint in the U.S. intelligence community, allegedly conditioning around $450 million in U.S. assistance to Ukraine in exchange for investigating former U.S. Vice President and 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who sat on the board of Ukrainian oil and gas firm Burisma, which was under scrutiny by Kiev for alleged unlawful enrichment and abuse of power.
Of those 226, 224 are Democrats, one is Republican (Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei) and one is a Republican-turned-Independent (Michigan Rep. Justin Amash).
Biden’s son was not accused of wrongdoing in an investigation by Ukraine, whose top prosecutor was fired after pressure from the then-vice president, who threatened to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees.
On Sept. 24, U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the launch of a formal impeachment inquiry.
“Today, I am announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry,” she said.
An impeachment inquiry is an investigation to determine whether articles of impeachment should be filed and voted on in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The 25 Jewish Democrats in the lower chamber—where the president is impeached by a simple majority followed by a trial and a required two-thirds majority of senators present to remove the president from office—have all come out in support of impeachment or an impeachment inquiry. It is safe to assume that Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) and David Kustoff (R-Tenn.) would not support that move.
In favor (from latest to earliest)
Max Rose (D-N.Y.), Oct. 2, 2019: “While the President of the United States may be willing to violate the constitution to get re-elected, I will not. I will not shirk my duty and I will not violate my oath. I will support and I will defend the United States Constitution. And it is for that reason that I intend to fully support this impeachment inquiry and follow the facts.”
Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Sept. 25, 2019: “What the president has already admitted, the president’s acknowledgement of withholding Ukraine aid, the fact that he would not share with leaders of his own party like Mitch McConnell the justification, the fact that when this came to light he has now given shifting explanations for why he withheld the aid, I think all those facts which are uncontested at this point compel us to move down the path of formal impeachment inquiry.”
Susan Wild (D-Pa.), Sept. 24, 2019: “The use of one’s public office to target political opponents and invite foreign interference in our elections is unequivocally unacceptable. Equally troubling is the President’s repeated obstruction and stonewalling of Congress’s constitutional oversight responsibilities. Today, I am announcing that, should the administration continue to withhold the whistleblower complaint at the heart of this matter, I will support an impeachment inquiry of the President of the United States. Because the House of Representatives has thus far been deprived of its ability to check the Executive in the way our nation’s founders intended, I view such an inquiry as the only way to get all of the facts and establish whether this President did, in fact, leverage the disbursement of foreign aid in exchange for Ukrainian interference in our election.”
Susan Davis (D-Calif.), Sept. 24, 2019: “It is time to open an impeachment inquiry. To not move forward would make Congress complicit in the President’s behavior. President Trump’s actions surrounding Ukraine epitomize his disregard for checks and balances as well as normal practices and protocols.”
Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Sept. 24, 2019: “The serious allegations that have surfaced about communication between President Trump and the Ukrainian President put our national security at risk and merit an immediate inquiry. We must let the facts guide our work. Given the gravity of this moment, I will base my final judgment on whether impeachment is warranted on the information garnered through this inquiry, not on hearsay, social media, or conflicting news accounts. I’d urge the House Republicans to do the same.”
Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla.), Sept. 24, 2019: “I have seen the President increasingly treat our nation’s laws with impunity. I have listened to your calls. I have carefully considered the gravity of impeachment. This President’s reckless disregard for our laws leaves Congress no choice. Impeachment inquiry hearings must begin,” she tweeted.
Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Sept. 24, 2019: “I came to Congress on a mission to clean up corruption and restore America’s trust in our government. It appears that our President encouraged the leader of Ukraine to investigate his political opponent, thereby inviting foreign interference in our democracy. This continues a pattern of behavior that is corrupt at best, treasonous at worst, and puts our rule of law at risk. Our Constitution transcends any person, politician, or political party, and I call on the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Judiciary Committees to use every legal mechanism possible to obtain all relevant evidence. If the reports are corroborated, we must pursue articles of impeachment and report them to the full House of Representatives for immediate consideration.”
Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Sept. 23, 2019: “Personally, I think the president ought to be impeached.”
Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Sept. 24, 2019: “It is obvious that President Trump knows no boundaries when advancing his own personal interests. The latest allegations that the President pressured the President of Ukraine to investigate a political opponent and is blocking a whistleblower’s complaint detailing those actions, if true, represent a clear abuse of power and impeachable offense. The American people deserve the truth. I join all those calling for impeachment proceedings.”
Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Sept. 23, 2019: “I swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. If true, these new allegations against the President are a threat to our national security, and constitute an impeachable offense.”
Also co-authored opinion piece in The Washington Post with six other freshman Democrats, calling for impeachment.
Elaine Luria (D-Va.), Sept. 23, 2019: “In the military and in Congress, I swore an oath to protect our Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. In recent days, credible information has emerged that President Trump sought to pressure a foreign government — Ukraine — to produce damning information on a political opponent. Furthermore, reporting suggests he threatened to withhold critical security assistance to Ukraine, a partner that is under direct assault from Russia, in exchange for the performance of this investigation. He put the foreign policy and national security of the United States at risk while doing so,” Congresswoman Luria said. “This was clearly an attempt to leverage foreign involvement to bolster his reelection campaign and shows a total disregard for our democratic political process. It is clear to me that he has betrayed the public trust and abandoned his obligations to the Constitution by elevating his own interests over the national interest. Allegations of this gross misconduct meet the threshold of high crimes and misdemeanors set by the Constitution. Congress must investigate and use the full extent of its powers to check these alleged abuses of presidential power. The House must move forward with impeachment.”
Also co-authored opinion piece in The Washington Post with six other freshman Democrats, calling for impeachment.
Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Aug. 29, 2019: “After months of relentless stonewalling by the Trump administration, I believe it is necessary to elevate the various congressional investigations of the president to a formal impeachment inquiry as the only way to ensure the American people have a comprehensive understanding of the facts uncovered by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and hold the president accountable for his actions.”
Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Aug. 1, 2019: “Although Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony may not have been a summer blockbuster, it confirmed the damning conclusions of his report. The investigation revealed substantial evidence that President Trump obstructed justice. And that the Special Counsel did not exonerate him. President Trump claimed victory. He seems to think that Mueller’s performance wasn’t enough to trigger an impeachment inquiry. Sorry, Mr. President, the question is no longer whether the House should vote to proceed with a formal impeachment inquiry. The inquiry has already begun.”
Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), July 31, 2019: “The House Judiciary Committee should move forward with an impeachment inquiry. I will continue to strongly support the important efforts of Democrats on the House Judiciary, Intelligence, Oversight, and other committees who are working to hold President Trump accountable to the American people and believe an impeachment inquiry will strengthen our hand in uncovering the truth. As chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, I will also continue to work to ensure effective oversight of this administration.”
Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), July 30, 2019: “The American people want, and deserve, the truth. Mr. Mueller’s testimony provided ample evidence that the president committed obstruction of justice, and I believe the House must pursue a formal impeachment inquiry.”
Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), July 28, 2019: “The American people deserve to know what transpired and to what extent our president is acting against the best interests of our nation. Russia is meddling, and this poses immediate danger. I have come to believe that stepping these congressional investigations up to the level of an impeachment inquiry will be required to get timely access to the information we need for our national security and national conscience.”
Mike Levin (D-Calif.), July 26, 2019: “I cannot ignore the dysfunction, corruption, and abuse of democracy that we witness every day from President Trump. We have the serious crimes revealed in the Mueller Report including multiple examples of obstruction of justice. We have the president’s encouragement of foreign interference with our elections. We have witnessed his contempt for democratic norms and institutions, including his repeated failure to respond to legitimate requests for documents and information making it impossible for Congress to exercise its constitutionally mandated oversight responsibilities. As a result, I feel we can no longer wait. I must now support an impeachment inquiry in order to get to the truth for my constituents.”
Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), June 19, 2019: “I am announcing that I believe that the House of Representatives should begin an impeachment inquiry officially. Because President Trump certainly has committed all kinds of offenses that meet the standard of impeachment, high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Andy Levin (D-Mich.), June 15, 2019: “When I became a member of the 116th Congress, I took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Today, I announce that I have concluded that the House has a duty to open an impeachment inquiry into the conduct of President Donald J. Trump. … After extensive discussion with colleagues on the committees of jurisdiction over various investigations, I have concluded that the only way to get to the bottom of Mr. Trump’s activities and inform the public about what we learn is to centralize and expedite the process through one select committee with the focus, power and urgency that come with an impeachment inquiry.”
Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), May 30, 2019: “Special Counsel Mueller’s statement yesterday highlighted what was clear in his report. Our democracy was attacked by a foreign power, and there is evidence that the president obstructed justice. Congress must hold him accountable. I believe the time has come to consider an impeachment inquiry.”
Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), May 21, 2019: “I think that overwhelming evidence has been presented to us in the Mueller report, and outside of it, too, of high crimes and misdemeanors, and we should launch an impeachment inquiry. Remember, an inquiry doesn’t prejudge the outcome. We’re not talking about articles of impeachment.”
David Cicilline (D-R.I.), May 21, 2019: “If [former White House Counsel] Don McGahn does not testify tomorrow, it will be time to begin an impeachment inquiry of [Trump].”
John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), March 12, 2019: “I think we are essentially in the beginning of an impeachment process. … I don’t think right now there’s any way that we could get 218 votes on the floor of the House for an impeachment resolution, but I think that’s not a matter of whether, it’s a matter of when.” (Reiterated his call for impeachment on May 29.)
Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.): Introduced articles of impeachment on Nov. 15, 2017.
Brad Sherman (D-Calif.): Introduced articles of impeachment on July 12, 2017.
On Thursday, acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire and intelligence community watchdog Michael Atkinson are expected to testify in front of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. Maguire will also appear before the U.S. House Intelligence Committee that day.