How Maryland's House Delegation Voted On Impeachment

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. House of Representatives voted on two articles of impeachment Wednesday after hours of debate. Maryland's congressional delegation, which includes six Democrats and one Republican, voted along party lines on both articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump.

Trump, the nation's 45th president, became only the third person in the office to be impeached. He now faces trial in the Senate and, while unlikely, the prospect of being removed from office.

Here's how the Maryland delegation voted on both articles of impeachment:

• Rep. Anthony Brown, Democrat: Yes
• Rep. Andy Harris, Republican: No
• Rep. Steny Hoyer, Democrat: Yes
• Rep. Jamie Raskin, Democrat: Yes
• Rep. C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger, Democrat: Yes
• Rep. John Sarbanes, Democrat: Yes
• Rep. David Trone, Democrat: Yes

"Today, I voted to impeach President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. This was a weighty decision," said Sarbanes, whose district includes parts of Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County, Montgomery County and Anne Arundel County. "Impeachment is not something you reach for. It is something you are brought to – reluctantly – when the evidence presented can no longer be denied. In this grave and historic moment, members of Congress were called upon to uphold our oath of office and our duty to the Constitution, and we answered that call."

Last week, a bitterly divided House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment accusing President Donald Trump of abusing the power of his office and obstructing Congress.

The action came after a parade of witnesses corroborated a whistleblower’s complaint that Trump held up congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, and his son Hunter. The investigation never occurred, and the aid eventually was released.

The tallies during Wednesday's vote were 230-197 on abuse and 229-198 on obstruction.

"Never in all my years of serving ... did I ever expect to encounter such an obvious wrongdoing by a President of the United States," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who has been a representative for 38 years.

"Throughout the Trump presidency, Democrats have resisted pursuing impeachment even as we watched with dismay and disgust a pattern of wrongdoing," said Hoyer, whose district includes Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties plus parts of Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties. Democrats have voted previously against pursuing impeachment in 2017, 2018 and 2019, he noted. "We voted against it three times, as recently as July. We did not want this. However, President Trump's misconduct has forced our constitutional republic to protect itself."

He recalled the father of Gov. Larry Hogan, Larry Hogan Sr., a Republican who took what he called an "act of political courage" in the impeachment proceedings against President Richard Nixon.

"Party loyalty must have its limits. And as evidence of the president's impeachable offenses have mounted daily as the witnesses testified, it has become increasingly clear that the limits of partisanship have been reached and passed," Hoyer said of the current leader. "Now Democrats and Republicans together face a test before our constituents, our countrymen and our creator."

Next, the Senate will hold a trial on the articles of impeachment beginning in January. A two-thirds majority vote is required for a conviction, which is not likely in the majority-Republican Senate.

Related: House Impeaches President Donald J. Trump

Rep. Andy Harris, a Republican representing nine Eastern Shore counties as well as parts of Baltimore, Carroll and Harford Counties, was the only member of the Maryland delegation to vote against the articles of impeachment. He called the case an "impeachment hoax" that would die in the Senate and an act that was "politically motivated."

"Today was a sad day for our republic and for our Constitution," Harris said in a statement Wednesday night. "Congress passed the articles of impeachment on a purely partisan vote by Democrats – with no support from any Republicans and, in fact, opposition from some fair-minded Democrats. This proves that this sham impeachment was a politically motivated attempt to remove President Trump from office despite the votes of 63 million Americans in the last election."

Patch editors Todd Richissin and Beth Dalbey contributed to this report.