Congresswoman Cindy Axne.
As expected, Iowa’s congressional delegation has split along party lines in the vote on procedures for the next phase of the House impeachment inquiry. Republican Steve King voted no. Democrats Dave Loebsack, Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne voted yes.
In a written statement, Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer, a Democrat from Dubuque, said recent testimony from Trump Administration officials reinforces concerns the president “may have jeopardized national security for his own personal gain.” Finkenauer said the ground rules the House approved today make the “testimony and facts” being gathered public. Congressman Dave Loebsack, a Democrat from Iowa City, said there are “serious allegations” against the president and the House must move the investigation forward “and follow the evidence where it may lead.”
Congresswoman Cindy Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, said in a written statement that she’s heard from “people on all sides” who “want to get to the bottom of what happened in an open transparent process that follows the law.” Axne said that’s what she voted for today.
President Trump’s campaign manager called it a “strictly partisan, illegitimate process.” Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said Democrats have had what he called an “impeachment obsession” since the night Trump was elected and Grassley said senators will have a hard time taking it seriously if the House passed articles of impeachment to the senate.
Read written statements below:
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley, president pro tempore of the United States Senate, today released the following statement regarding the House of Representatives vote on a resolution outlining impeachment proceedings.
“House Democrats announced the opening of impeachment proceedings more than a month ago. So far, this process has been defined by its secrecy, lack of due process and fundamental unfairness. This vote is an implicit admission by House Democrats of exactly that. It’s a day late and a dollar short.
“Democrats’ impeachment proceedings are rooted in animus, a lack of rights for the accused, no transparency and anger at the 2016 election results. Even with this long-overdue resolution, House Democrats are still denying House Republicans the unrestricted right to call their own witnesses, to rebut Democratic witnesses and to have the same right to subpoena witnesses that the Democrats have granted themselves. And the president’s counsel still doesn’t have the right to be present and ask questions of witnesses before the Intelligence Committee, which has been given the role the Judiciary Committee has played in the past. This all stands in stark contrast to previous impeachment proceedings.
“As a result, this will continue to be a purely partisan and political process – a continuation of Democrats’ impeachment obsession that began before President Trump was even inaugurated. This entire process has been contaminated from the beginning and the Senate may have a difficult time taking seriously an impeachment founded on these bases.”
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer (IA-01) released the following statement on House Resolution 660:
“With the new information and testimony coming out, it only reinforces the concerns around President Trump’s conduct. We are now seeing more evidence that draws a clearer picture showing the president may have jeopardized national security for his own personal gain. It is important that Congress, and the American people, have more opportunities to learn the facts and understand the full scope of the president’s actions. The ground rules laid out in today’s resolution will make testimony and facts public. It will also give President Trump a more than fair opportunity to defend his actions, going beyond other modern impeachment proceedings. I continue to support the investigations of the congressional committees looking into this matter, and will always stand by and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to continue the impeachment inquiry.
“Today is a solemn day in the history of the U.S. House, but because of the serious allegations against the President, the House must continue its due diligence and move this investigation forward. Today’s vote was a necessary step to move to the next stage of the investigation and get all the facts out in the open for the American people to see and make their own judgment. I continue to hold out hope that the administration will end its stonewalling to ensure Congress and the American people are able to follow the evidence where it may lead.”
WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Cindy Axne released a statement on her vote on H. Res. 660, which establishes the procedures for the public phase of the House impeachment inquiry.
“I’ve heard from Iowans across my district, and people on all sides want to get to the bottom of what happened in an open transparent process that follows the law. That’s what I voted for today—a path forward for fair hearings that are open to the public and will give the American people the facts they deserve.”
“I came to Congress to work for the middle class–getting people better health care and better-paying jobs while making the federal government more accountable. That work remains my number one priority. While the investigation continues, I will continue to work on lowering health care and drug costs, increasing access to job training programs, and helping people affected by natural disasters in Iowa.”
House Resolution 660 outlines a public process that provides rules for open hearings in the House Intelligence Committee and authorizes the public release of deposition transcripts. It protects the rights of the president, makes the witness testimony of those before the House Intelligence Committee public, and follows regular order set down by the House during the Clinton Investigation. This is not a vote to impeach the president.
OTTUMWA – Today, the House of Representatives voted on a resolution formalizing the process to impeach and remove President Donald Trump from office. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican candidate for Congress in Iowa’s 2nd District, released the following statement.
“Rita Hart and Dave Loebsack want to reverse the 2016 election results, and this is their sad way of doing that,” said Miller-Meeks. “Due to the lack of openness and transparency, this entire process has been a stain on the institution of the House of Representatives. It hasn’t been a fair process and it’s certainly not been a process of which the American people deserve. Instead of impeaching and removing President Trump from office, Rita Hart and Dave Loebsack should focus on passing USMCA, reducing health care costs, and creating policies that will continue to improve our economy.”
Washington D.C- Congressman Steve King releases this statement following his vote against H. Res. 660, a hyper-partisan impeachment resolution forced thru the House of Representatives today by the House’s Democratic Majority.
“Today is Halloween, and the hyper-partisan, impeach-at-all-costs, Democratic majority in the House has just played a Halloween impeachment trick on all of America,” said King. “I reject the Democrats’ efforts to legitimize this sham impeachment process, and all Americans should be concerned that the person most empowered by the House impeachment resolution voted on today is Rep. Adam Schiff, a man who just faced a censure effort based on his efforts to deceive the American public on this subject, and who has just had an ethics complaint filed against him as well. President Trump is correct to describe this a witch hunt, and the President’s phrase takes on added significance with the actions of the Democrats in the House today.”
H.R. 660 passed the House of Representatives today on a hyper-partisan vote of 232-196 with King voting against the legislation. Not a single House Republican member voted in favor of the Democrats’ impeachment resolution, and two House Democrats joined with Republicans in opposition to the resolution. As a result of these votes, only those in opposition to the impeachment resolution can be said to have acted in a bi-partisan fashion.