WASHINGTON — Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday announced two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, which saw mixed reactions from the region’s federal legislators.
Congressman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., had harsh words for the decision, but wasn’t surprised by it.
“Impeachment has been a foregone conclusion for the Democrats. By politicizing the most severe powers reserved for Congress, they will undoubtedly leave a lasting stain on the institution,” said Thompson.
He added that he will not support Trump’s impeachment.
“After considering all of the information presented, I have only heard emotional arguments that do not rise to the level of impeachment,” the congressman said. “Therefore, I will not vote in favor of the articles of impeachment.”
Thompson called the matter a “spectacle” and he has said legislators should focus their efforts on bettering the lives of the people.
“The American people deserve much better than this spectacle and I encourage my colleagues to refrain from trying to score cheap political points on the campaign trail and get back to the people’s work,” Thompson said.
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., agreed, but did acknowledge that he feels Trump had erred in his actions.
“President Trump exercised poor judgment in mentioning Vice President Biden in the context of an investigation to the Ukrainian president,” Toomey said in a statement Tuesday.
However, Toomey didn’t feel that justified impeachment.
“There is a tremendously high bar that should be met to nullify the results of an election and remove a sitting president from office,” the senator said. “It has never happened in the course of American history. While inappropriate, nothing I have seen rises to the level of removing President Trump from office.”
Toomey continued, “I intend to sit through a trial if the House pursues that, and at that point I’ll examine all the evidence they present.”
While Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., couldn’t be reached for comment, he has continuously supported the investigation, and the effort to hold the president accountable for perceived misdeeds.
In September, Casey released a statement regarding the impeachment inquiry.
“The recent revelation that President Trump pressured a foreign government to investigate his political opponents is a textbook case of abuse of power which demands action,” the statement read.
“In order to hold President Trump fully accountable, I support a formal impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives. My concerns about the President’s conduct have grown over months, particularly as I thoroughly reviewed Special Counsel Mueller’s report,” Casey’s statement read. “President Trump’s most recent actions with regard to Ukraine have created new urgency to take action. Given this clear abuse of power, I believe I have an obligation to outline the conduct, both during the Russian investigation and the Ukraine matter, that is within the well-established definition of the ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ that the Senate would consider in an impeachment trial.”
