House

Group of Democrats floating censure of Trump instead of impeachment: report

by Marty Johnson - 12/10/19 12:59 PM ET

A small group of House Democrats have been floating the idea of censuring President Trump instead of impeaching him, multiple lawmakers familiar with the situation told Politico.

The group consists of Democrats whose districts Trump won in 2016 and reportedly includes Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), Anthony Brindisi (D-N.Y.) and Ben McAdams (D-Utah.).

“I think it’s certainly appropriate and might be a little more bipartisan, who knows,” Schrader told the publication Tuesday.

According to lawmakers, the idea of a censure is thought to have more bipartisan appeal than the impeachment does and would also allow Democrats in the Senate avoid a lengthy trial.

However, the chances are slim that the censure becomes something feasible. The group of House Democrats are reportedly very short of the 18 votes needed to block the impeachment vote on the House floor, and a majority of Democrats have already gotten behind Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the impeachment proceedings.

“I don’t think [moderate Democrats] have enough to block impeachment. 10 to 12 max. But they’re working to raise it,” a Republican lawmaker told Politico. “And [they’re] obviously reaching out to Republicans to see if they would join them.”

So far, only two Democrats – Reps. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.) – are expected to vote against the articles of impeachment that were formally introduced Tuesday morning.

No House Republican is expected to vote in favor of the articles, though, Justin Amash (I-Mich.), who left the Republican party this summer, said last week that he would most likely vote in favor of the articles depending on the language used.