Rep. Henry Cuellar, last Texan undeclared on impeachment, will vote to impeach Trump - The Dallas Morning News

Updated at 10:20 a.m.: Revised to include further elaboration from Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo.

WASHINGTON – Laredo Rep. Henry Cuellar said Wednesday morning, with the House impeachment debate underway, that he will join most other Democrats in voting to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Asked why, he said: “Facts.”

For weeks he had declined to say how he would vote, saying he wanted more time to weigh the arguments and testimony.

Cuellar later elaborated in a written statement that the “House investigations made it clear” that Trump “pressured a foreign government for his own political gain while withholding congressionally-approved foreign aid, compromising our national security.”

“A failure to vote yes would be a repudiation of my constitutional responsibility to check the president and balance our democracy,” he said, also accusing Trump of obstructing Congress. “The president is not above the law, and this Congress must hold him accountable for his actions.”

He added: “This process brings me no joy.”

By the time the House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment last Friday morning, on a strict party-line vote, all but three Texans had made up their minds.

All 23 Texas Republicans opposed it, including Rep. Will Hurd of San Antonio. One of the most outspoken GOP critics of Trump, the former undercover CIA officer has condemned the president’s actions but said they fell far short of justifying impeachment.

Ten of 13 Texas Democrats supported it, most of them enthusiastically.

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NEW: Just spoke to @RepCuellar, who had been last of 13 Texas Dems in Congress to not say how they would vote on impeachment.

He is a YES on both impeachment articles. Asked him why and he said, "Facts." He indicated that he would elaborate in a written statement. https://t.co/N9sDfoVjGg

— Tom Benning (@tombenning) December 18, 2019

Within hours, two of the three holdouts joined the others: freshmen Reps. Colin Allred of Dallas and Lizzie Fletcher of Houston. Both had ousted veteran Republicans in the 2018 midterms and both face the possibility of aggressive efforts to win by those seats.

That left Cuellar as the only uncommitted Texan heading into Wednesday’s floor debate.

One of the few remaining centrists in the House, Cuellar bristled at accusations from primary challenger Jessica Cisneros, an immigration lawyer, that he has been soft on Trump.

He coasted to reelection in 2018 with no Democratic or Republican opponent. This time, though, progressives are gunning for him, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among others back the challenger.

Allred announced his stance shortly after the House Judiciary Committee on Friday voted along party lines to approve two articles of impeachment against Trump over his Ukraine dealings. One article covers abuse of power, while the other covers obstruction of Congress.

Fletcher announced that she will vote to impeach Trump hours later.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, calling the Democrats’ impeachment push a “scam” and a “witch hunt.” It’s widely expected that he will be acquitted in the GOP-run Senate, which is poised to take up the matter early next year.

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While the outcome in the House is considered a foregone conclusion, there had been some question about how so-called “frontline” Democrats would vote.

Allred and Fletcher helped Democrats win back the House by upsetting veteran GOP congressman -- Pete Sessions in Dallas and John Culberson in Houston. That has made them top 2020 target for Republicans.

“This is not about partisan politics,” Allred said. “It is about protecting our democracy.”

Many other Texas Democrats have long been vocal advocates for impeaching Trump, particularly since the controversy emerged over Ukraine. Even before that, Houston Rep. Al Green was among the first Democrats in the House to advocate for impeachment.

Last week, Cuellar said that he was “going to wait ‘til everything is brought in and then once everything’s brought in, I’ll make a decision based on the evidence.”

Cisneros, a progressive activist, calls him “Trump’s favorite Democrat.”

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Rep. Henry Cuellar, last Texan undeclared on impeachment, will vote to impeach Trump - The Dallas Morning News
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