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The House Will Vote On Impeachment This Week. Here’s Where Houston’s Congressional Reps Stand

Ahead of the impeachment vote, Houston Public Media tracked down what the area’s Congressional delegation has been saying.

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J. Scott Applewhite/AP
The full House of Representatives, controlled by the Democrats, is expected to vote on the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress before lawmakers depart for the holidays. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The House will vote on the impeachment of President Donald Trump this week, after spending the past three months investigating the president’s dealings in Ukraine and deciding whether his behavior was grave enough to qualify as high crimes and misdemeanors.

The House Judiciary Committee on Friday approved two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The vote came after a bitter two-day debate in which Democrats said it was their duty to impeach and Republicans defended the president and battled over process.

The articles charge that Trump abused his power and betrayed the nation as he urged Ukraine to investigate his political rivals and withheld military aid to that allied country, as well as a White House meeting for its president.

The greater Houston area is home to eight Texas congressional districts. Below are the latest public statements they’ve made on how they will vote:

 

Dan Crenshaw (R, TX-2):

Crenshaw has made few public statements on the impeachment proceedings, but in tweets on December 4 and 5 he called the process "frivolous" and said the inquiry was based on "unproven theories and presumptions."

Lizzie Fletcher (D, TX-7):

Fletcher appeared noncommittal in her initial statements on impeachment, but in a message to constituents on December 13, she wrote:

"As a member of Congress, I also swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. And it is that why, when the articles of impeachment are presented in the House, I will vote yes on both."

 

Al Green (D, TX-9):

One of the earliest voices to call for impeachment, Green said he was confident the House would impeach Trump and urged the Senate to convict the President in a tweet posted on December 11.

Randy Weber (R, TX-14):

Weber has made multiple statements recently against the impeachment proceedings. In a tweet on December 11, Weber called the effort a "shampeachment."

Sheila Jackson Lee (D, TX-18):

In a statement released on December 13, Jackson Lee wrote:

"Because this president tried to tamper with our next election, and he employed a foreign power to do so, he has demonstrated a disregard from democracy and his emphatic unfitness to lead this nation. Because he ignored the prerogatives of a coordinate, coequal branch of government, he has demonstrated a patent misunderstanding about our system of government and our enduring documents. In total, he has committed High Crimes and Misdemeanors and has earned the stain of impeachment and warrants removal from office.”

 

Pete Olsen (R, TX-22):

Olsen has made few public statements recently on the impeachment proceedings, but in an October 31 press release in response to the House passing a resolution setting rules for the process, Olsen called it a "partisan and poisoned effort to validate [Democrats'] bad faith so-called impeachment inquiry."

 

Sylvia Garcia (D, TX-29):

"Every child in America deserves to inherit a democracy where no corrupt President can be allowed to erode the foundations of the Constitution," Garcia wrote in a tweet on December 13.

Brian Babin (R, TX-36):

"The deck was stacked against Donald Trump from the very beginning," Babin told Fox News, speaking out against the impeachment proceedings. He posted a video of the interview to Twitter on December 12.

Photo via Flickr