Most Texas lawmakers follow party line on impeachment — but Allred’s not sure

Members of the Texas congressional delegation fell almost squarely across party lines Wednesday about articles of impeachment introduced by Democrats against President Donald Trump — but Rep. Colin Allred was still unsure what to do.

Allred, a freshman Democrat, who beat a veteran Republican incumbent to win his first term in 2018 in a Dallas-area district, is not saying what he might do.

Allred supported the resolution this fall setting the rules for the impeachment investigation.

His office declined to comment for this story Wednesday, but he told CNN, “Whatever decision I make would be based on what I think is consistent with the Constitution, with our values as a country, what I think is best for north Texas — and not any partisan consideration.”

Texas’ Republican members largely complained that impeachment is a waste of time and that the impeachment investigation and articles are impeding efforts to pass other legislation, like the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement.

“We should be well beyond this, but we’re not,” Congressman Mike Conaway, a Texas Republican, told McClatchy, about impeachment.

The articles of impeachment against the president were announced on Tuesday, following more than two months of investigation by House committees into Trump and his associates’ dealings with Ukraine. The Democratic-run House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote Thursday on whether to recommend impeachment, and if so, a full House vote is likely next week.

Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, wrote in a statement on Tuesday that the investigation did not garner enough evidence to impeach Trump.

“The fact that Democrats are proceeding with these articles, despite having no evidence of ‘high crimes or misdemeanors’ by President Trump, is an affront to our democracy,” he said.

At issue is a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. House Democratic impeachment-writers allege Trump asked for political favors in exchange for congressionally-approved military aid.

House Democrats on Tuesday alleged Trump abused his power in the July 25 phone call and through other actions taken by his administration officials.

They also charged Trump with obstruction of Congress for not complying with subpoenas for documents and witness testimony issued by certain House committees in their impeachment investigation.

“The idea that you can obstruct Congress, or obstruct an investigation, by asking a judge to give you direction on executive privilege or any other privilege is outrageous,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters on Wednesday.

“It’s completely bogus in my view,” Cornyn added. If the House votes for impeachment, the Republican-run Senate would conduct a trial. Sixty-seven Senate votes would be needed to remove the president from office.

Conaway, Cornyn’s congressional colleague on the House side, echoed the senator’s comments.

“[The articles] are not impeachable,” he said. “I don’t think either one of them should pass.”

Lawmakers from both parties invoked the wishes of their constituents when dealing with impeachment.

“I think everybody perceives it to be a grave undertaking by the Congress and people understand what’s at stake when you impeach a president and have a trial to remove him in the Senate,” Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said. “The people I’ve spoken to back home, they’re very sobered by it.”

Conaway, who represents a heavily Republican district, heard an opposing sentiment from his constituents.

“I represent a very strong Republican seat, but also a very strong Trump-supporting seat, so most of them feel like I do-- that this has been a waste of time,” Conaway said about the impeachment inquiry and articles.

This story was originally published December 11, 2019 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Most Texas lawmakers follow party line on impeachment — but Allred’s not sure."