Updated July 18, 2019, at 4:43 p.m.
U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) on Thursday became the first member of Vermont’s congressional delegation to call for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
“I do not arrive at this conclusion lightly,” Welch wrote in a statement released Thursday morning. “The power of impeachment granted to Congress by our Founding Fathers should not be casually employed.”
But, he argued, Trump “has established a clear pattern of willful disregard for our Constitution and its system of checks and balances. His presidency has wrought an unprecedented and unrelenting assault on the pillars and guardrails of our democracy, including the rule of law on which our country was founded.”
Welch’s 382-word statement included a litany of grievances against the president. He accused Trump of attacking the courts, the press, the rule of law and democracy itself. But in a conference call with reporters on Thursday afternoon, Welch pointed to a pair of offenses he said had pushed him over the edge: Trump’s refusal to comply with congressional oversight and his racist attacks on four members of Congress.
“I mean, the two things that really changed my mind were, one, my conclusion that the stonewalling is not gonna stop. The president’s been here 30 months. He’s made it crystal clear that he is not going to respect the constitutional responsibilities under Article 1 of the United States Congress,” Welch said. “And, No. 2, it’s very clear that his attacks on American citizens on the basis of their ethnic origin, their religion and their race are intensifying. And my alarm is that this is extremely dangerous to our democracy.”
Welch did not say that his decision was driven by the two allegations investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller: that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to swing the 2016 election or that the president obstructed justice.
Since the start of Trump’s presidency, Welch has expressed deep skepticism about the wisdom of seeking his impeachment. Welch first argued that Congress should await the conclusion of Mueller’s inquiry before weighing in on the matter. He subsequently said his colleagues would be better served focusing on policymaking than impeachment. While he called for congressional investigation of the president, he warned that pursuing impeachment would play into Trump’s hands.
“I was a reluctant person to come to support impeachment,” he conceded to reporters Thursday afternoon. “My view has long been that we should be doing investigations that follow the facts. And it’s become apparent that the president is going to refuse to allow Congress to do that job.”
According to a list maintained by CNN, Welch became the 87th member of the 435-person House to endorse impeachment. He said he had texted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to give her a heads-up about his decision but had not pushed her to move forward with it. He said it was “not at all clear” whether there would be sufficient support in the House to file articles of impeachment.
Welch’s two colleagues in Vermont’s congressional delegation, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), have so far declined to follow his lead. Neither was available for an interview Thursday, according to their respective spokespeople.
In a written statement, Leahy said he supported the House’s ongoing investigations into the Trump administration. “And I understand why many members of Congress have concluded that President Trump should be impeached and convicted, given his disregard for our norms and the rule of law, the open corruption and undue foreign influence, and rampant misconduct detailed in the Mueller report. Not to mention his attempts to divide Americans with bigoted and xenophobic speech and policies.”
Leahy did not, however, say that the House should impeach and the Senate should convict the president.
“The decision whether to initiate impeachment proceedings is up to the House of Representatives,” Leahy said. “But I think it’s critical that we gather all the facts and lay them before Congress and the American people, just as Congress did with President Nixon.”
Welch first signaled a shift in his thinking Wednesday, when he voted to at least debate impeachment — a first for him.
A day earlier, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) had attempted to force a vote on impeaching the president, citing his recent racist remarks targeting the four members of Congress, who are women of color. In an effort to head off a direct vote on impeachment, House Democratic leaders sought to table his resolution. A majority of the House backed the procedural move, voting 332-95-1 to kill it.
Welch, however, joined 94 other Democrats in voting to keep the resolution alive.
On Thursday, Welch said his procedural vote did not constitute an endorsement of the Green measure as written. “My vote was more about moving forward on the impeachment discussion than it was the specific content of that resolution,” he said.
Welch declined to say whether and how he disagreed with the Green resolution but said the House Judiciary Committee would be the appropriate author of any forthcoming impeachment resolution.
One of Welch’s own committees, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, is scheduled to take testimony from Mueller next week. He said he believed the former special counsel might push the American people toward impeachment because he is “a source that is respected.”
Welch has cast other votes critical of Trump and his administration in recent days. Later Wednesday, he voted to hold Attorney General Bill Barr and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in contempt for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas. On Tuesday, he voted to condemn Trump’s recent racist comments.
During Thursday’s press call, Welch criticized the president for presiding over a rally Wednesday night in Greenville, N.C., featuring an angry crowd chanting racist slogans. As Trump denigrated Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a Muslim refugee originally from Somalia, his audience chanted, “Send her back! Send her back!” The president declined to intervene.
“The president has chosen to be as divisive as he possibly can be,” Welch said. “And that’s his tactic to govern, and that’s his tactic to campaign. And last night’s rally was a very vivid example of that, where he just incited the crowd to engage in that chant of, ‘Send her back! Send her back!’”
Welch added, “And my judgment is that, as bad as it’s been, it’s gonna get much worse.”
Disclosure: Paul Heintz worked as Peter Welch’s communications director from November 2008 to March 2011.
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Thank you, Peter Welch. There comes a time when the deplorable conduct of men, using the term loosely, like Trump must be challenged. Whether or not this challenge results in impeachment, your having helped keep it on the table is meaningful and appreciated.
Send Trump back…. to Loompaland.
We need more people in the house and senate that aren’t afraid to back down from dictator trump!!
Call me Ishmael.
Here is a question:
Per the constitution the grounds for removal via impeachment are:
treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors.
Since the Mueller report did not find the first two, where do high crimes and misdemeanors equate with thinking he is a racist or dislike?
Whether the president is an idiot or not I believe in the rule of law which I think a lot of people have forgotten. Our Constitution and laws are what has made so many people want to migrate to our country but now legislators choose to ignore laws they do not like or are in the way.
Well I support term limits for the House and Senate I keep voting against Bernie, Patrick and Peter but you just can’t get rid of them. Our system is so corrupt that once politicians are elected they rule for life. All they care about is holding on to power and lining their pockets.
Trump is a Dufas but at least he actually cares about the people.
All I hear from Democrats is how much they hate Trump and their plan for the future is the Green New Deal .
And what has Peter Welch done for the people of VT nothing. His biggest accomplishment has been pushing an online tax so the govt takes more of my money
“Since the Mueller report did not find the first two, where do high crimes and misdemeanors equate with thinking he is a racist or dislike….
Whether the president is an idiot or not I believe in the rule of law which I think a lot of people have forgotten”
Ten counts of obstruction of justice has nothing to do with “the rule of law”?!?
I, as a Vermont citizen demand that Welch, Leahy and socialist Sanders be impeached for impersonating Senators and Congressman of Vermont. Neither of them has done anything for Vermont. or it’s citizens except for taking money from lobbyists …In other words, PAID OFF/ BOUGHT..all 3 are worth millions. They are the racists, they care more for the illegals them American citizens. All 3 couldn’t fight their way out of a WET PAPER BAG..!!!!! All 3 are COWARDS. especially Welch..
Is it surprising that when Fast and Furious resulted in the murders of many people the Democrats were silent. When Hillary broke the law by using an illegal unsecured server there were crickets. When it was revealed that the Obama administration refused to send help to Benghazi they remained silent. When it was revealed that the Democrats illegally set up surveillance of Trump none of the members had a problem.
But Trump tells 4 congresswomen to go back to the country of their families to help those countries the party of tolerance is outraged.
There is no such thing as the Democratic party anymore; it’s the Democrat party.
Its always enlightening to read the comments section on Seven Days and be reminded that while the Democrats continue to overwhelm conservatives in the state, there are a hefty minority of Trumpkins even here. I keep hearing how Vermont conservatives are different than those in the rest of the nation, that they arent driven only by hate and greed, that they arent all racist, homophobic, xenophobic, etc, with no honesty, integrity, decency or honor. So far, all I can see is that conservatives are, sadly, all alike.
Go impeach yourself Welch. And while you’re at it, impeach the other two blowhards from Vermont.
The corrupt, racist Trump administration is a cancer on the entire planet. Removing Trump is only removing the most vulgar symptom, but not the disease itself. Having a soulless man like Mike Pence taking Trump’s place won’t correct anything, nor will it counter the raging ignorance of Trump’s cult followers.
The Pelosi/Cuomo/Weinberger/Establishment wing of the Democratic Party offers very little as they feed at the same corporate pig trough as the Republicans. Which is why Pelosi refused to start impeachment hearings against George W. Bush and Dick Cheney when the Dems took the House, even tho Bush/ Cheney lied us into the Iraq War. Pelosi is giving Trump a pass now.
The courts, Congress, the major media, and state and local governments are by and large wholly owned by and serve corporate interests .
Welch calling for Trump’s impeachment is a safe gesture because nothing will happen.
Representative Welch,
Does 332-95 mean anything to you. To me it says you are in the minority and your efforts would be better used trying to pass some of the immigration reform laws that Congress has threatened to work on for decades but never seems to get to.