Ohio Politicians React To Trump Impeachment Inquiry

LORAIN, OH — Rep. Marcy Kaptur was one of the first Ohio politicians to react to the news. She delivered a statement on Tuesday on the floor of the House reacting to announcement of an impeachment inquiry beginning into President Donald Trump. She pulled no punches in her speech.

"Like so many Americans, I’m disgusted by President Trump’s repeated betrayal of American interests in favor of Vladimir Putin’s,” said Kaptur, a Democrat. “This President’s efforts to coerce Ukrainian President Zelensky – an allied leader - into helping him win reelection by using congressionally supported military aid as leverage is not only a dramatic betrayal of the President’s Oath of Office, it’s also the latest example of Trump doing Putin’s bidding.”

On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. Pressure had been mounting on the speaker, fueled by reports that Trump asked the president of Ukraine in a phone call to investigate former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, over purported corruption.

The news sparked partisan responses among Buckeye State politicians, though. Senator Rob Portman, a Republican, took to Twitter to display his disappointment in his Democratic colleagues.

"The American people want us to get things done for them rather than focus on more & more partisan investigations. The Democrats’ impeachment inquiry will distract Congress from the bipartisan legislative work we should be doing to find solutions & deliver results for Americans," he wrote.

He was joined by notable Ohio Republicans like Rep. Jim Jordan (who said the impeachment was about "undoing the will of the American people") and Rep. Bill Johnson who called the inquiry a "dead end."

Meanwhile, Democrats rallied around Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision to begin the inquiry. Rep. Tim Ryan, who once tried to unseat Pelosi as leader of the House Democrats, said "Trump is a mobster. We must impeach." Rep. Marcia Fudge celebrated her colleagues finally moving forward with impeachment. "Not only have the laws we've sworn to uphold been ignored by this President, he has now openly interfered with our elections by seeking help from a foreign government," she said.

Former Governor John Kasich, a frequent opponent of Trump, said he wants to see an official investigation into the Ukraine calls. He said an impeachment inquiry would have no credibility without Republican support, but the American people deserved to know exactly what happened between the presidents.