How Montgomery Co's Representatives Voted On Impeachment Inquiry

ROCKVILLE, MD — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved eight pages of procedures to take the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump to nationally broadcast public hearings. Here's how representatives from Montgomery County voted:

• Rep. Jamie Raskin (D): Yes
• John Sarbanes (D): Yes
• Rep. David Trone (D): Yes

Elsewhere in Maryland:

• Rep. Anthony Brown (D): Yes
• Rep. Andy Harris (R): No
• Rep. Steny Hoyer (D): Yes
• Rep. C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger (D): Yes

The resolution defining the scope of the next phase of the inquiry was approved mainly along party lines, 232-196. Maryland was no exception, with the state's lone Republican in the House the only nay in the Free State.

Hoyer called the Republicans voting against the resolution "disappointing," which he alleged was "consistent with their refusal to defend the Constitution and uphold their oath of office."

The Maryland Democrat, who is also the House Majority Leader, explained the purpose of the resolution: to lay out the procedures for public hearings.

"Today, the House passed a resolution laying out the process and procedure for public hearings as the House prepares to move to the next phase of the impeachment inquiry, when the American people will hear directly from witnesses about this President's abuse of power," Hoyer said on Thursday.

The House will move ahead with impeachment proceedings against Trump after a government whistleblower's claims the president used the power of his office to solicit a foreign government to influence the 2020 U.S. election. Much of the testimony and documents released after the claim have supported the whistleblower's account.

The impeachment effort has focused on three panels — Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Oversight, and Reform. In closed-door hearings that included Republicans on the committees, investigations have centered on how Trump urged Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, now running for president, while withholding nearly $400 million in military aid.

An investigation by the Judiciary Committee has focused on possible obstruction of justice by the president, based on episodes described in special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Provisions in the resolution allow Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the Intelligence committee's chairman, and Rep. Devin Nunes of California, the panel's top Republican, to each question witnesses for up to 90 minutes or delegate their time to staffers before rank-and-file lawmakers each ask questions for five minutes.

Republicans on the Intelligence and Judiciary committees could subpoena witnesses and documents, subject to the chairman's approval, and Republicans could ask for a committee vote.

The vote came as Tim Morrison, Trump's former top adviser for Russian and European affairs, arrived on Capitol Hill to testify before the House. Morrison, who left his job Wednesday, served on the National Security Council and is the first White House political appointee to testify.

The resolution approved Thursday directs the House Intelligence Committee to hold the public hearings and write a report that will be handed off to the House Judiciary Committee, which would then draft articles of impeachment.

If the House moves forward, the Republican-controlled Senate would decide whether to remove Trump from office.

Only two presidents have ever been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Neither of them were convicted at trial.

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• Here's Where MoCo's Congressional Dems Stand On Impeaching Trump