NJ Democrat against impeachment — Thanks, Trump says

As politicians take sides in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, the position of one Democrat from New Jersey has caught the attention of the president.

House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced formal impeachment proceedings against Trump on the heels of reports that Trump withheld nearly $400 million in security assistance to Ukraine while pressuring the foreign government to investigate former Vice President and current presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son.

In a message on his Twitter account on Sunday, Trump defended himself against a possible impeachment, and thanked first-term Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-1st, following Van Drew's comments on Fox & Friends on Sunday.

"What concerns me about impeachment now, let's break this down, the odds are very high that it's not going to bear any fruit. The odds are very high that this president will continue to be the president. The odds are very high that this president will be the nominee for the Republican Party," Van Drew told host Neal Cavuto, adding that he fears that impeachment will "split the country apart."

Van Drew, who replaced retired Republican Frank LoBiondo in 2018, said the electorate can "impeach" Trump at the ballot box.

The majority of the New Jersey delegation supports impeachment, including both Cory Booker and Robert Menendez in the Senate, plus House members Andy Kim, Tom Malinowski, Donald Norcross, Frank Pallone, Bill Pascrell, Donald Payne, Mikie Sherrill, Albio Sires, and Bonnie Watson Coleman.

Democrat Josh Gottheimer said "we must let the facts guide our work," and that he would decide on impeachment once an inquiry was completed.

The lone Republican in the delegation, Chris Smith, has not issued a statement regarding the impeachment inquiry. No Republican in Congress has come out in support of the inquiry.

The House of Representatives, controlled by Democrats, is the body that votes on impeachment, which acts akin to an indictment of a president for what the U.S. Constitution calls "high crimes and misdemeanors." The U.S. Senate would then conduct a trial and vote on whether to remove the president. The Senate is controlled by Republicans.

Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton have been the only presidents impeached by Congress. Both were acquitted by the Senate.

Previous reporting by Erin Vogt was included in this report.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ.

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