House floor debate on impeaching President Trump briefly shifted into Spanish on Wednesday as Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) made his case for impeachment partly in a language preferred by many of his constituents.
Correa, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who also serves on the House Judiciary Committee, began speaking in English but later shifted to Spanish.
He said he is voting to impeach Trump to preserve the American democratic system.
“My vote today will be to ensure that we will continue being a democracy and not a dictatorship,” Correa said. “Mi voto hoy será para asegurar que sigaremos siendo una democracia y no una dictadura.”
“Muchos de nuestros hijos y hijas han pagado el precio de nuestra libertad con su sangre,” Correa continued. “Many of our sons and daughters have paid the price of our freedom with their blood.”
Correa emphasized that a democracy exists “when no one is above the Constitution and all of us are subject to the laws.”
“Una democracia existe cuando nadie está sobre la Constitución y todos somos sujetos a las leyes,” he said.
Correa concluded his floor speech by translating his final line in Spanish into English: “And today I pray for God for his guidance in uniting our great nation.”
Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), who was presiding over House floor proceedings, told Correa to provide a full translation of his remarks.
The population in Correa’s Southern California district, which includes Anaheim and Santa Ana, is about 68 percent Hispanic, according to census data.
The House is expected to vote later Wednesday evening on the two articles of impeachment alleging that Trump abused his power and obstructed Congress in its investigation of his efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government to launch probes into his political opponents.
Correa, as a member of the Judiciary Committee, also voted last week to advance the two articles of impeachment.