Democrat Sean Maloney: Trump Left No ‘Alternative’ but Impeachment

Freshman swing district Democrat Rep. Sean Maloney (D-NY) said Friday that President Donald Trump’s conduct left no “alternative” other than impeachment.

Rep. Maloney wrote in a tweet Friday that the president’s “conduct” regarding his conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky means that the president must be impeached. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Democrats drafted two articles of impeachment, claiming that the president obstructed Congress and abused the office of the presidency.

Citing an NBC News report that the House Judiciary Committee advances both articles of impeachment out of the committee, Rep. Maloney said:

From the start, I have had a high bar for impeachment. But the President’s conduct has left us no alternative. If we are to be faithful to the people we serve and the oath we take to the Constitution, we must hold this president or any president accountable for such misconduct.

Rep. Maloney’s support for advancing impeachment follows as many moderate swing district Democrats said they have considered censuring President Trump as a less extreme measure than impeachment.

Despite the New York Democrat’s defense of the impeachment articles, Rep. Maloney has yet to say if he will definitely vote in favor of the articles of impeachment when they come to a House floor vote next week.

Rep. Maloney represents one of the 31 congressional districts that President Trump won during the 2016 presidential election but House Democrats flipped during the 2018 midterm elections. Republicans hope to regain roughly 20 congressional seats to win back the House majority.

Maloney beat Republican candidate James O’Donnell during the 2018 congressional election by roughly 11 points.

National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) chairman Tom Emmer (R-MN) said in December that impeaching President Trump could very well cost Democrats their House majority.

“This process they’re embarking on is going to cost them their majority next fall,” Emmer said.

The NRCC chairman said that Democrats have an “obsession” with impeachment, adding that “it’s just getting worse for them.”