Rep. Jeff Van Drew Votes No On Trump Impeachment Inquiry

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved eight pages of procedures to take the impeachment inquiry against President Trump to nationally broadcast public hearings.

Congressman Jeff Van Drew was one of only two Democrats to vote against it. But since the inquiry passed the House, Van Drew said he "will be making a judgement call based on all the evidence presented by these investigations."

The resolution defining the scope of the next phase of the inquiry was approved mainly along party lines, 231-196.

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 Joe Biden, now running for president, while withholding nearly $400 million in military aid.

President Trump admitted earlier this month that he called for Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son, Hunter.

“If they were honest about it, they would start a major investigation into the Biden's,” Trump said Oct. 3 when asked what he wanted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to do about the former vice president and his son. He also told reporters that China should investigate the Biden's.

Van Drew, however, has maintained opposition to impeachment because he says there's not enough evidence. The 2nd Congressional district representative has been a rare Democrat to draw praise from President Trump for his consistent opposition to the impeachment inquiry.

President Trump thanked Van Drew on Twitter, stating "Thank you. Just another Witch Hunt by Nancy Pelosi and the Do Nothing Democrats." Read more: Trump Thanks Jeff Van Drew For Opposing Impeachment Inquiry

The only other Democratic member of Congress to vote no on the impeachment inquiry was Collin Peterson of Minnesota.

Van Drew released the following statement Thursday:

"Today, I voted Nay on H.Res. 660. Without bipartisan support I believe this inquiry will further divide the country tearing it apart at the seams and will ultimately fail in the Senate. However, now that the vote has taken place and we are moving forward I will be making a judgement call based on all the evidence presented by these investigations. My hope is that we are still able to get some work done to help the American people like infrastructure, veteran’s benefits, environmental protections, immigration reform, reducing prescription drug cost, and strengthening Social Security."

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.

His testimony was scheduled behind closed doors, but he could provide information that is central to the push to remove Trump from office. Specifically, he will be asked to explain the "sinking feeling" he said he got when Trump demanded Ukraine's president investigate former Biden and his son over business dealings in Ukrai

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.

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