Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) on Wednesday ripped House Democrats as they move to hold a historic vote on articles of impeachment against President Trump over his dealings with Ukraine.
Gallagher echoed comments made by his Republican colleagues, accusing Democrats of trying to reverse the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. He also dismissed the two charges against Trump — abuse of power and and obstruction of Congress — as “exceptionally weak.”
“I worry this opens up a pandora’s box where we’re going to be mired in a state of perpetual impeachment,” Gallagher told Hill.TV.
“We’re going to have people on both sides trying to delegitimize every election and that is just a sad state for our country to be in, so this is going nowhere and I hope cooler heads will prevail in the future,” he added.
Wednesday’s vote on articles of impeachment follows months of House investigations into Trump’s actions with Ukraine.
Though Democratic leadership has long resisted calls for removing Trump from office, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) formally announced an impeachment inquiry in September following a whistleblower’s complaint that alleged Trump, in exchange for military aid, tried to pressure Ukraine into opening investigations into his political rivals.
The impeachment vote is expected to largely fall along party lines.
All but four of the 31 Democrats representing districts that Trump won in the 2016 election are expected to vote for the articles of impeachment.
Trump, who has been defiant throughout the investigation, seethed over the impending impeachment vote. In a six-page letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), he called for an end to the “impeachment fantasy” and accused Democrats of “subverting America’s democracy.”
—Tess Bonn
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