Democrats Expecting Defections on Articles of Impeachment Vote: Reports

Ranking member Doug Collins (R-Ga.) (R) speaks as Chair Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) (L) listens during testimony by lawyers for the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 9, 2019. Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images

Some Democrats are expected to defect on voting on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, according to several reports this week.

As House Judiciary Committee members hold a hearing to hold a committee-wide vote on impeachment, some battleground Democrats in the House are mulling voting against impeachment as it would hurt their chances at reelection in 2020. The final vote on impeachment is expected to occur next week before the Christmas recess.

The Washington Post reported that there will be at least half a dozen Democrats in the House who will join the Republicans to oppose impeachment. Another aide told the paper that there might be more than that.

Politico reported that a half-dozen Democrats would likely defect.

“It’s probably the most serious consideration I’ll give anything that I’ve considered my one year in Congress,” said Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), reported the website. “I’m going to do exactly what I was trained to do as a CIA officer—I’m going to look at the full body of information, read it thoroughly, and make an objective decision.”

About 18 House Democrats would need to defect from the party for it to fail in the House.

As expected, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.), the most vocal Democrat against impeachment, will vote against the measure, according to the Post. Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), another impeachment opponent who represents a staunchly pro-Trump district, will also vote against the measure, it was reported. Both Van Drew and Peterson joined Republicans to vote against a procedural measure that laid out public hearings in the House Intelligence Committee.

One of the most vulnerable Democrats, Rep. Kendra Horn (D-Okla.), said she isn’t sure on how she will vote next week. “I’m still reviewing,” Horn told reporters on Wednesday, according to Politico.

Reps. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Max Rose (D-N.Y.), Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.), and Ben McAdams (D-Utah) have yet to say how they will vote, the report said.

“This is not something that we’re going to operate on anyone’s timeline,” Rose told Politico. “I take the speaker at her word that this is a vote of conscience, as is every vote here,” he added.

“What I’m doing over the next couple of days, I’m going back, reviewing the testimony and reviewing the transcripts, the documents that were collected during the inquiry the last few months,” said Crow.

When the measure reaches the Senate, some Democrats might also vote against convicting the president. One of them may be Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), a centrist Democrat, who said this week that he is “very much torn” over impeachment.

Earlier this week, Politico reported that a small number of House Democrats were seeking to censure Trump instead of impeaching him.