Florida Rep. Francis Rooney condemned President Trump for “harassing” American diplomats in the wake of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch’s impeachment testimony.
On Friday, Yovanovitch testified that she felt “threatened” by Trump and his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. She noted that she felt “devastated” when she found out that Trump had referred to her as “bad news” prior to firing her from her post.
In a statement to CNN, Rooney condemned Trump’s treatment of Yovanovitch and other members of the U.S. foreign service. Rooney said, “I don’t necessarily think it’s right to be harassing or beating up on our professional diplomatic service.”
He noted that Trump has the ability to pick and dismiss his ambassadors but disagreed with his treatment of Yovanovitch.
Rooney, who announced that he would be retiring at the end of this term, has been one of the few Republicans toying with the idea of impeachment.
He said in mid-October that he was “still thinking about” voting to impeach Trump. He also called on the president to allow members of his administration to testify in the impeachment hearings.
“I think if you don’t have anything to hide, you ought to come testify,” Rooney said.
Rooney, 65, represents people in the cities of Fort Myers, Naples, and Marco Island in Florida. His district voted for Trump by more than a 20-point margin. Rooney, along with all other House Republicans, voted against the House impeachment process rules last month, despite his indecision on impeachment itself.
