Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard joined other centrist Democrats in calling for President Trump to be censured as a more restrained punishment than impeachment.
Several at-risk Democrats have urged Congress to consider a censure resolution rather than articles of impeachment to punish Trump for what they consider to be an abuse of power displayed in his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian leaders. A censure is a formal condemnation from Congress that stops short of asking the Senate to remove the president.
According to ABC News, Gabbard is expected to support the censure resolution that is set to be introduced Tuesday afternoon, the night before the House will vote on two articles of impeachment. Similar to the articles of impeachment, the resolution alleges that Trump put his personal interests over that of the nation.
Several other centrist Democrats have already pushed for a censure resolution, including Oregon Rep. Kurt Schrader, who said, “I think it’s certainly appropriate and might be a little more bipartisan, who knows. Time’s slipping by.”
Gabbard said on Monday that she is still undecided on whether to support Trump’s impeachment.
“I’m taking this time for myself to be able to review everything that’s happened all the information that’s been put forward,” Gabbard said at a campaign stop at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. “And just all the factors that go into really trying to figure out what is the best action to take for our country. And for democracy. It’s not a simple or easy decision to make.”
Gabbard, 38, has struggled to break into the top tier of candidates in the Democratic presidential primary. Her campaign has been dogged with attacks from her own party, including a smear from Hillary Clinton claiming she was being “groomed” by Russia. The RealClearPolitics polling average shows her with 1.5% support nationwide.
