Here are all the major congressional Democrats and 2020 presidential candidates who want to impeach Trump

Grace Panetta

May 24, 2019, 19:58 IST

Here are all the major congressional Democrats and 2020 presidential candidates who want to impeach Trump

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, Michael Cohen

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib listen as Michael Cohen, former attorney and fixer for President Donald Trump, testifies before the House Oversight Committee

Internal tensions over whether to impeach President Donald Trump are brewing among House Democrats, and more members are openly coming out in favor of impeachment with every passing day.
The fervor for impeachment has only intensified as the Trump administration ramped up its stonewalling Congress' attempts to investigate Trump since the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report.
The Trump administration is ramping up its stonewalling of Congress' attempts to investigate Trump, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders believe impeachment would be too divisive.
Here are the 31 currently-serving House Democrats and four Democratic presidential candidates who have openly come out in favor of beginning an impeachment inquiry against Trump.
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Internal tensions over whether to impeach President Donald Trump are brewing among House Democrats - and more members are openly coming out in favor of impeachment with every passing day.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan first introduced a resolution in favor of impeachment in late March with just a few cosponsors, but the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report from his nearly two-year-long investigations and its aftermath have increased the appetite for impeaching Trump.

The report did not come to a "traditional prosecutorial decision" as to whether Trump obstructed the Mueller probe and other federal investigations involving him, but laid out 11 possible incidents of obstruction and left it to Congress to decide.

The fervor for impeachment has only intensified as the Trump administration ramped up its stonewalling of Congress' attempts to investigate Trump since the report's release.

Last week, the White House successfully ordered former White House counsel Don McGahn to defy a subpoena to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, and the Treasury Department went to court to refuse to hand over Trump's tax returns to the Financial Services Committee.

While Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats including Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Caucus Chair Hakeem Jefferies say they believe an impeachment inquiry would divide the country and end up playing into Trump's hands, a consensus is forming among other Democrats that impeachment is a necessary next step.

Democratic leaders came under more pressure to consider impeachment when a Republican congressman, Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, risked his seat and his political career to call for impeaching Trump.

Here are the 31 currently-serving House Democrats and four Democratic presidential candidates who have openly come out in favor of beginning an impeachment inquiry against Trump.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts became the first 2020 presidential candidate to come out in favor of impeachment shortly after the release of the Mueller report.

Sen. Kamala Harris of California also said the House should start "taking steps towards impeachment" after the Mueller report's release.

Former HUD Secretary and 2020 candidate Julián Castro also said it would be "perfectly reasonable" for Congress to begin impeachment proceedings.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, a member of the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, as well as a 2020 candidate, supports impeaching Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr.

Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, also a 2020 candidate, supports impeachment inquiries into both Trump and Barr.

Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas, also seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination, came out in favor of beginning impeachment proceedings at a May 21 CNN town hall.

In the House, Rep. Al Green became one of the very first Democrats to put forth impeachment articles back in 2017 with four other Democrats, but their resolution to impeach Trump was rejected.

Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee was one of the co-sponsors of Green's impeachment resolution.

Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio also co-sponsored the 2017 impeachment resolution.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York also co-sponsored Green's 2017 impeachment articles.

Rep. Maxine Waters of California, the chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, has also been a long-time supporter of impeaching Trump.

In March of this year, freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan introduced her own resolution to impeach Trump with Green as a co-sponsor.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York became a co-sponsor of Tlaib's resolution in April and, tweeted on Tuesday that "failure to impeach now is neglect of due process."

Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota is also a cosponsor of Tlaib's resolution and recently tweeted "it’s time Democrats open an impeachment inquiry against the current occupant of the White House."

Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts also co-sponsored Tlaib's resolution and recently told MSNBC, "I didn't come to Congress to impeach a president...but I believe we have no other choice. Our hand is being forced."

Rep. Filemon Vela of Texas became a co-sponsor of Tlaib's resolution in late April.

Rep. Jared Huffman of California also co-sponsored Tlaib's resolution in April.

Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island came out in support of impeachment after Don McGahn defied a subpoena from the House Judiciary Committee.

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a constitutional law professor at American University and a member of the House leadership team, said he supports impeaching Trump in a recent interview with the Washington Post, saying "the logic of an impeachment inquiry is pretty overwhelming at this point."

Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas also supports impeachment, writing on Twitter that "we cannot tolerate this level of obstruction."

House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. John Yarmuth of Kentucky supports impeachment and told CNN he believes "a growing majority of our caucus believes that impeachment is going to be inevitable."

Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas tweeted Tuesday, "It’s time for Congress to open an impeachment inquiry. There is political risk in doing so, but there’s a greater risk to our country in doing nothing."

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania, a member of the Judiciary Committee, came out in support of impeachment on Tuesday.

Rep. Madeline Dean, also of Pennsylvania, said Tuesday "we must open an impeachment inquiry."

Rep. Dwight Evans, also of Pennsylvania, wrote "I'm ready to vote in FAVOR of the House of Representatives beginning an impeachment inquiry of President Trump" on Wednesday.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington called for impeachment on May 21, saying, "A president who thinks he's king, accountable to nobody & above the law is absolutely unacceptable."

Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin called for impeachment after McGahn's no-show for his May 21 hearing.

Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado, a co-freshman representative to leadership, wrote May 21 that "the Administration’s pattern of wholesale obstruction of Congress since the report’s release, make clear that it is time to open an impeachment inquiry."

Rep. Diana DeGette, also of Colorado, came out in favor of impeachment on May 21, writing, "the facts laid out in the Mueller report, coupled with this administration’s ongoing attempts to stonewall Congress, leave us no other choice."

Rep. Val Demings of Florida said she believes "that we're at a point where we've run out of options and I think we should begin impeachment proceedings."

Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon came out in favor of impeachment on May 21, writing "Trump continues to disrespect the power of Congress, the rule of law, and our democracy."

Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia wrote May 21 that he supports impeaching Trump, writing "endorsing such a course is not easy ... but I believe the President has left Congress no other option but to pursue it" in a statement.

Rep. Jackie Speier of California told CNN on Tuesday she believes "an inquiry into impeachment is required at this point in time."

"Congress has a moral obligation to put our politics aside and take action," Rep. Kathleen Rice of New York tweeted Tuesday. "We need to start impeachment proceedings."

Freshman Rep. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey came out in support of impeachment in an interview with NBC News, saying, "The law can survive the efforts of bad people to defy it. The law cannot survive the hesitation of good people to defend it."

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