The U-S House last night impeached President Donald Trump on counts of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, sending the matter to the Senate for an expected trial. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after the historic vote, “The House has acted on a very sad day to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” President Trump fired back from a rally in Michigan, “We didn’t lose one Republican vote, and three Democrats voted for us.”
One of those Democrats was Minnesota 7th District Congressman Collin Peterson. He said in a statement, “I’m not a lawyer and am not sure what “high crimes and misdemeanors” are, but I do know that this process has not convinced the people in my district we have impeachable offenses and that the president needs to be removed.” Peterson added, “The inquiry and hearing have been partisan and have failed in convincing the country while further placating some people who have wanted the president impeached since he was elected.”
Republican challenger, former Lieutenant Governor and state Senator Michelle Fischbach, says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi let Peterson off the hook so he can say to the voters in his district that he voted no. Speaker Pelosi said Democratic caucus leaders did not pressure rank-and-file members to vote for impeachment. Most analysts say if Peterson runs for re-election, he’ll face a tough battle.
The rest of Minnesota’s U-S House delegation voted along party lines: Democrats Angie Craig, Dean Phillips, Betty McCollum and Ilhan Omar voted to impeach the president; Republicans Jim Hagedorn, Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber voted against.
Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s continuing argument with President Trump came up near the end of eight hours of House floor speeches for and against impeachment. Republican Whip Steve Scalise said, “Just this summer, over 90 Democrats voted to impeach the president for comments he made about ‘The Squad [comprised of Omar and several other female House members]’. So he makes comments about some other members of Congress — who make a lot of comments about him — and 95 members vote to impeach the president of the United States.” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer drew guffaws and boos from Republicans when he responded, “We did not wish for it [impeachment]…. However, President Trump’s misconduct has forced our constitutional republic to protect itself.”