House Democratic leaders have said they expect some of their caucus will not support articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, likely political decisions each are making based on voter feedback in their home districts.
Most of the defections are expected from Democrats in so-called ‘battleground states’ that President Trump won in 2016, and certainly from districts he carried.
A final impeachment vote is expected next week ahead of the Christmas recess.
The Washington Post reported that will be at least half a dozen Democrats in the House will join the Republicans to oppose impeachment. Another aide told the paper that there might be more than that.
Meanwhile, Politico reported that a half-dozen Democrats would likely defect.
“It’s probably the most serious consideration I’ll give anything that I’ve considered my one year in Congress,” said Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), reported Politico.
“I’m going to do exactly what I was trained to do as a CIA officer—I’m going to look at the full body of information, read it thoroughly, and make an objective decision.”
Eighteen Democrats would need to defect from the party for the impeachment vote to fail outright.
As expected, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.), the most vocal Democrat against impeachment, will vote against the measure, according to the Post. Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), another impeachment opponent who represents a staunchly pro-Trump district, will also vote against the measure, it was reported.
One of the most vulnerable Democrats, Rep. Kendra Horn (D-Okla.), told reporters Wednesday she isn’t sure on how she will vote next week. “I’m still reviewing,” she said.
Reps. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Max Rose (D-N.Y.), Xochitl Torres Small (D-N.M.), and Ben McAdams (D-Utah) have yet to say how they will vote, the news site noted.
“This is not something that we’re going to operate on anyone’s timeline,” Rose told Politico. “I take the speaker at her word that this is a vote of conscience, as is every vote here,” he added.
“What I’m doing over the next couple of days, I’m going back, reviewing the testimony and reviewing the transcripts, the documents that were collected during the inquiry the last few months,” said Crow.