Democrat Max Rose Supports Trump Impeachment

Rep. Max Rose (D-NY) announced Friday that he will vote for both articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.

Rep. Rose, a swing district Democrat, compared Trump’s phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to an “invitation to the enemies of the United States to come after any citizen.”

The New York Democrat said in a statement Friday:

Party and politics will never come before the country I bled to protect—and would unquestionably do so again. A President coercing a foreign government into targeting American citizens is not just another example of scorched earth politics, it serves as an invitation to the enemies of the United States to come after any citizen, so long as they disagree with the President. Embarking on an unprecedented effort to obstruct this inquiry doesn’t make the facts any less true. Therefore I will vote in support of the two Articles of Impeachment.

Rep. Rose’s support for the impeachment inquiry has enflamed controversy in the past. Rep. Rose in October said that, in an inverted sense of the American justice system, President Trump should “prove” his innocence of the impeachment charges Democrats levied against him.

New York’s 11th Congressional District, which Rep. Rose represents, is one of the 13 congressional districts that President Trump won by more than six percentage points during the 2016 presidential election and that House Democrats managed to flip during the 2018 midterm elections.

Nicole Malliotakis, New York state assemblywoman and Republican congressional candidate for the 11th Congressional District, said that New Yorkers will unseat Rep. Rose in the 2020 elections. She said:

Today, Max Rose declared, once and for all, that he will vote for impeachment along with Nancy Pelosi, Jerry Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar and the rest. His words send a clear message to the voters of Staten Island and southern Brooklyn and, next November, we’ll send a clear message back by voting for President Trump and sending Max Rose packing.

Then-candidate Rose defeated incumbent Rep. Daniel Donovan (R-NY) by roughly six points.

Rep. Rose in November disputed the idea his district is a Trump district.

“My district is not a Donald Trump district, just like my district is not a Max Rose district. What it is, is — it’s a patriotic district,” he said.

Rep. Rose said that he has continued to represent his constituents. He said:

I came to Washington to take on both parties and get things done. In the past year alone we passed legislation to finally build the East Shore Seawall, permanently fund the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, and enact sanctions on Chinese pharmaceutical companies for pumping fentanyl into our communities. We’ve also beat FEMA, the Port Authority, and secured much needed funding for transportation projects.

“Whether the Senate votes to remove the President or not, I will continue to focus on getting results for the people of Staten Island and South Brooklyn,” he added.