By
Rachael Bade and
Mike DeBonis
Dec. 11, 2019 at 7:45 p.m. EST
House Democratic leaders are bracing for some defections among a group of moderate Democrats in swing districts who are concerned a vote to impeach President Trump could cost them their seats in November.
Lawmakers and senior aides are privately predicting they will lose more than the two Democrats who opposed the impeachment inquiry rules package in late September, according to multiple officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk frankly. Two senior Democratic aides said the total could be as many as a half-dozen, while a third said the number could be higher.
Predictions about some defections come as a core group of centrists from districts Trump won in 2016 are having second thoughts. While many knew impeachment would never be popular in their GOP-leaning districts, some have been surprised that support hasn’t increased despite negative testimony about Trump from a series of blockbuster hearings last month.
Several moderates have privately pined for other options, including a censure vote they know they’re unlikely to get. Others have even considered what one moderate called “splitting the baby”: backing one article of impeachment but not the other to try to show independence from the party.
The House Judiciary Committee is poised to vote Thursday on one article charging Trump with abuse of power for pressuring Ukraine to help his reelection chances in 2020 and another on obstruction of Congress for blocking testimony from witnesses and ignoring requests for documents in the impeachment inquiry.
The full House would vote next week.
“I’m still thinking it over,” said Rep. Susie Lee, a centrist who hails from a GOP-leaning Nevada district Trump carried in 2016. “This is a very grave decision. . . . I’m hearing all sides of it. . . . It’s mixed, it’s very mixed.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) can afford to lose 17 Democrats and still have enough votes to impeach President Trump. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
“As soon as they’re formally adopted, I’ll make a decision,” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), another centrist Democrat who attended a session Monday night in which moderates discussed their concerns. “I’ve said all along, I need to see all the facts. I’m not going to prejudge anything until we get every bit of information.”
To be sure, Democratic leaders have the votes to impeach Trump, said senior Democrats speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. With 233 Democrats, 197 Republicans and one independent — Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) can afford to lose 17 Democrats and still prevail.
Amash is expected to vote to impeach Trump, while Republicans are likely to unite in opposition.
In fact, Democratic leaders have said they don’t intend to whip the impeachment vote, allowing each member to make his or her own personal choice on such a historic roll call that many see as a legacy-defining issue.
“This is one of those issues where members have to come to their own conclusions; it’s just too consequential,” said Rep. Daniel Kildee (D-Mich.), a deputy whip. “I think this is one of those votes where people are going to be remembered for a long time for how they voted on it.”
Still, the more votes Pelosi loses, the more Republicans will push a narrative of Democrats divided. Indeed, Republicans, who are increasingly confident they won’t lose any members, say they’re planning to highlight any increase in the number of Democratic defections as evidence of a weak case for removing Trump.
Continued at
https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...7a1_story.html
What’s happening now: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Democrats unveiled two articles of impeachment on Tuesday against Trump, on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Here’s what that means.
What happens next: The House Judiciary Committee meets Thursday to consider those articles and possible amendments. The articles will then be voted on, one by one, by the Judiciary Committee, setting the stage for a full House vote next week. Here’s a guide to how impeachment works.
