Santa Cruz Co. Lawmakers' Statements On Trump Impeachment Votes

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Both members of Congress who represent Santa Cruz County voted for impeaching President Donald Trump Wednesday. Both Democrats, Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (18th District) and Rep. Jimmy Panetta (20th District) voted to adopt two Articles of Impeachment against the 45th President of the United States: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Their votes were along House party lines — no Republican representatives voted for impeachment, and only two Democrats sided with the GOP.

Rep. Eshoo delivered these remarks on the House floor Wednesday:

"Madam Speaker, I rise today to defend our Constitution and our democracy by voting for the two Articles of Impeachment.

"The words of our sacred oath define our duty, and those words must be kept. Our Founders’ primal fear was that powerful members of our government would become, in Hamilton’s words: 'mercenary instruments of foreign corruption.'

"President Trump abused the powers of the presidency by ignoring and injuring national security and other vital national interests to obtain an improper personal benefit. He also betrayed our nation by abusing his high office to enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections.

"Article Two I agree with because it details the obstruction of Congress by the President by directing unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas issued by this House of Representatives and [abusing] the powers of the presidency in a manner subversive to the Constitution.

"I believe the Constitution is the soul of our nation, and by defending it, we are saying we will not be soulless."

Rep. Panetta released a statement Wednesday:

"I did not come to Congress to impeach the President. But, I swore an oath to protect our country and defend the constitution. That is why, today, I voted to approve two articles of impeachment against this President for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

"In order to arrive at that solemn and somber conclusion, I used many of the same skills that I acquired early on as a former prosecutor. By putting politics and emotions aside to focus on the underlying evidence and applying those facts to the articles of impeachment, I found it clear that the President subverted our national interest for his own personal and political interest. The President then repeatedly ignored and refused to cooperate with the numerous requests and subpoenas of the investigation by Congress. Moreover, the President proudly admitted this conduct and refuses to acknowledge that he did anything wrong.

"I do not take pride in impeaching a sitting president of the United States. But as the U.S. Representative for the central coast of California, I am upholding my obligation under the United States Constitution and to protect the future of our democracy.

"The impeachment of the President and his upcoming trial in the U.S. Senate will not stop us from getting things done. As I have proven during my limited time in Congress, I will continue to work on and pass legislation that reforms our immigration laws, especially for Dreamers and farmworkers, promotes our agriculture, combats the effects of climate change, improves our health care system, lowers prescription drug prices, changes the tax code to help the middle class and small businesses, defends equal rights, and protects our values and way of life on the Central Coast."

Impeachment proceedings are now headed to the U.S. Senate for trial. Senators act as the jury, and the chief justice of the United States presides over the proceedings. To remove a president from office, two-thirds of members must vote in favor. If the Republican-led Senate votes along party lines as they did in the House, the president will not be removed from office.

Trump is only the third president in U.S. history to face a Senate impeachment trial.