Rep. Jim Clyburn, one of the top Democrats in the House, admitted that he expected some members of his party to vote against the upcoming articles of impeachment.
Clyburn’s admission comes a day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi directed committee chairmen to draft the articles of impeachment after the House spent nearly two months investigating whether President Trump abused his power to pressure Ukraine to launch an investigation that would benefit him personally.
“I mean simply that this is a vote of conscience,” Clyburn said in an interview with CNN on Friday morning. “I do believe that when it comes to something as divisive as impeachment, we have to leave members up to their own consciences, their own constituents, and what they think is in the best interest of their love for country. And so I think it would be a bit unseemly for us to go out, whipping up a vote on something like this.”
CNN anchor John Berman then asked if Clyburn, the House majority whip, expected to lose members of his party.
“Well, we do expect to lose some, and that’s why I say it is a conscious vote,” Clyburn responded. “And it’s with our constituents. We have a very diverse caucus. I share six counties with a Democrat in South Carolina. I see it, a part of those counties, that is much different from the part that [Rep. Joe] Cunningham has, and we may be voting differently. I have no idea. He is probably talking to his constituents. He knows where they would like to see him stand on this question, and I suspect that’s the way he would vote.”
The majority whip recently argued in favor of broadening the scope of the articles of impeachment to include the Mueller report.
Cunningham, who has repeatedly said he wanted to wait until all of the facts were out before taking a stance on impeachment, released a statement on Thursday reiterating that position, but also saying, “The testimony he’s seen from constitutional scholars and President Trump’s own appointees paints an incredibly concerning picture of the president’s abuse of power,” according to WCSC 5.
