Illinois Democrats Facing Tough Re-Election Bids Will Support Impeachment of President Trump

Reps. Underwood and Lipinski have both said they will vote in favor of articles of impeachment against the president

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A pair of Illinois Democrats facing tough re-election campaigns have both announced that they will vote in support of articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.

Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14) announced her decision in a press release Tuesday, while Rep. Dan Lipinski (IL-03) announced his decision in an editorial published in the Chicago Tribune on Monday.

“Our country’s founders created impeachment so that no president could place themselves above the law, a crucial Constitutional check-of-power that ensures our country’s security and values are protected against corruption and foreign influence in our elections,” Underwood said in a statement. “The president has demonstrated a pattern of corrupt behavior, and abused his power for his own personal political gain when he pressured foreign leaders to conduct investigations against political rivals, jeopardizing our country’s national security and the integrity of our elections.

“In order to uphold my sworn oath, I must vote to protect the Constitution and will vote in support of the articles of impeachment,” she added.

The House Rules Committee is meeting Tuesday to establish rules on the length and scope of the debate over the two articles of impeachment, which were filed in the aftermath of a controversial call involving the president’s conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July.

The articles of impeachment accuse the president of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and will likely come up for a vote later this week.

Lipinski says he will support the impeachment articles, but warned that the impeachment process could help hand the president a win in his 2020 re-election bid.

“This will not constrain his actions and may embolden him,” Lipinski said in a statement. “It may further weaken Congress. (In) November 2020, President Trump may be re-elected. Those who pushed House Democrats to move impeachment right now may have handed President Trump a major victory.”

Lipinski did say that the Ukraine call “required an impeachment inquiry,” and that he believed the president should be “rebuked for his actions” in the matter.

Congressional Democrats accused Trump of using his office for personal and political gain when he asked Ukraine’s president to investigate former VP, and 2020 presidential candidate, Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

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