Some Dems change tune on Trump impeachment US president Donald Trump

House Democratic chairmen who cast votes in favour of impeaching President Trump while Republicans controlled the chamber now say it’s too soon to hit the gas on starting impeachment proceedings. 

The senior Democratic lawmakers, who voted in favour of impeachment articles from Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) in the last Congress, are largely toeing their leadership’s line of caution, saying committees should move forward with investigations of Trump.  

The committee leaders who voted in favour of Green’s impeachment articles in 2017 and 2018 either once or both times include Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (NY), Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (Miss.), Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (Mass.), Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas), Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (NJ), Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez (NY) and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva (Ariz.).

Engel and Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) are both leading investigations of Trump; Waters is notable in having called for Trump’s impeachment before and after the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

Engel, who backed impeachment in separate votes in 2017 and 2018, echoed Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) during a conference call earlier this week with Democrats.

Engel said that Democrats “should be cautious” with impeachment, according to a source on the call, while explaining how his panel is investigating Russian interference.

“We need to look at this bizarre relationship between Putin and Trump,” Engel said during the call.

He added that he’s directing staff to inform foreign governments that do business with Trump hotels that they may be contributing to a violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which is an issue that progressives like billionaire activist Tom Steyer have cited in calling for impeachment. 

Johnson, who also voted in favor of Green’s impeachment resolution, took a similar tack.

“Impeachment is a sacred constitutional responsibility entrusted to Congress. I am committed to continuing to conduct oversight into the president’s conduct and wrongdoing as well as serving as a check on the president. This is what House Democrats were elected into the majority to do, and this is what we will do while Senate Republicans repeatedly show that they are willing to look the other way,” Johnson said in a statement. 

McGovern deferred to the Judiciary Committee but didn’t rule out the prospect of impeachment.

“He trusts Chairman Nadler’s leadership on this issue. But given Special Counsel Mueller’s report and the president’s continued stonewalling of Congressional oversight requests, he doesn’t believe any options should be taken off the table,” McGovern spokesman Matt Bonaccorsi said.

Two members of Democratic leadership who, like Green, are members of the Congressional Black Caucus, at one point or another supported the efforts. Green alleged in his articles of impeachment that Trump was inflaming racial tensions in America.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) voted in favor of Green’s articles of impeachment in 2017 but joined other Democratic leaders the second time in voting to table them. The votes forced by Green drew the support of 58 Democrats the first time and 66 a month later, but the majority of his colleagues joined leadership in rejecting the efforts. – Al Jazeera

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