In the wake of the allegations against President Trump regarding Ukraine, Texas Democrats from the U.S. House who were previously on the fence about impeachment warmed to it in a cascade of tweets and statements on Tuesday. They were U.S. Reps. Colin Allred and Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas, Lizzie Fletcher of Houston, and Marc Veasey of Fort Worth.
The about-turn among some members of Congress on the impeachment question came following the explosive allegations in the Wall Street Journal and other news outlets that Trump threatened to withhold military aid from Ukraine unless that country investigated Joe Biden and his son. The president allegedly was recruiting a foreign power to get dirt on his potential rival in the 2020 election.
“The House of Representatives should act swiftly to investigate and should be prepared to use the remedy exclusively in its power: impeachment,” Fletcher, a Houston area congresswoman, said in a statement. The president’s actions in the Biden matter “represent a gross abuse of power and an abuse of the trust,” she said.
Rep. Marc Veasey went further. “I am extremely troubled by the news that President Donald Trump admitted that he openly welcomed help from a foreign leader to get damaging information on a political opponent…I believe Congress must act now in the face of our President’s continued dangerous behavior…I support moving forward with an impeachment inquiry.”
Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas voiced his support for impeachment proceedings earlier Tuesday morning—if “the Administration doesn’t hand over the whistleblower complaint.”
House Democrats have asked the White House for more information on the president’s involvement in the Ukraine phone call –and on the whistleblower who disclosed the alleged wrongdoing in the first place. The Trump Administration is blocking the whistleblower from talking to Congress.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Cornyn flippantly tweeted, “[T]his is all about politics,” suggesting there’s no truth to the Trump allegations surrounding his call with the Ukraine leader.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, Democrat of El Paso, continues to oppose impeachment.
Photo: Getty Images
