Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) was one of just two House Democrats who voted against opening the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. Now, Peterson has confirmed that he will also vote against impeaching the president.

Speaking at an event over the weekend in Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District, which he represents, Peterson confirmed that he plans to vote against impeachment “unless they come up with something between now and Wednesday,” according to the Globe.

Peterson told the Globe that Trump “has not committed a crime” and said his “biggest problem” with the impeachment proceedings is that his caucus pre-determined that they were committed to impeaching Trump.

“And now they’ve spent a year trying to figure out how they can make a case for it. That’s backward. I just don’t agree with this,” Peterson said. “This is dividing the country for no good reason because he’s not going to be thrown out of office. Why are we doing this?”

Instead of impeachment, Peterson said the issue of Trump’s presidency should be settled by voters at the ballot box.

“If people don’t like Trump, they can vote against him,” he said.

Peterson further predicted that four or five other Democrats will join him in voting against impeachment. But he did not name which colleagues those will be.

The full House is expected to vote on impeachment this week after the House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment last week, one for abuse of power and another for obstruction of Congress. The House is expected to vote down party lines with few defectors, as Peterson predicted.

The impeachment trial will take place in the Senate, where it is expected to die quickly.

New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew was the first House Democrat who committed to voting against impeachment; he was the second Democrat who voted against opening the impeachment inquiry. However, Van Drew is expected to formally join the Republican Party this week.

Source: https://www.theblaze.com/news/another-house-democrat-says-he-will-vote-against-impeachment

The post Another House Democrat says he will vote against impeachment, predicts others will join him first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Democratic Rep. Jeff Van Drew (N.J.), one of the only Democratic lawmakers to vocally oppose President Donald Trump’s impeachment, is switching political parties, according to multiple reports.

Politico reported that “the question now was when, not if, Van Drew was joining the Republican Party.”

The Washington Post reported:

Officials said Saturday that Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, a vocally anti-impeachment Democrat, will join the Republican Party in the coming days following a Friday meeting with President Trump — a move that would put a political chill on the Democrats’ expected vote to impeach Trump next week.

Two Democratic officials familiar with Van Drew’s discussions in recent days said they believe he has decided to switch parties. The White House meeting was confirmed by a Trump administration official and one of the Democratic officials.

According to the New York Times, an announcement formalizing Van Drew’s transition to the Republican Party will come sometime next week.

Van Drew, who defeated a Republican in 2018 to take over New Jersey’s second congressional district, is one of the most conservative members of the Democratic Party. Van Drew and Rep. Collin C. Peterson (D-Minn.) were the only two Democrats to vote against the House resolution that formalized the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry against the president.

Motivations for the party switch are likely two-fold.

First, Van Drew’s impeachment opposition would have slimmed his chances of winning a Democratic primary next year. Second, the Republican Party had already indicated that it was targeting Van Drew in its effort to retake control of the House. Because the Senate will most likely acquit the president, being a Republican is politically advantageous for Van Drew and his 2020 re-election.

Reports of Van Drew’s planned Democratic Party abdication come just four days after he denied that he might switch parties.

“I’m not changing anything — just doing my job. I’m still a Democrat, right here,” he told reporters Tuesday, the Post reported.

Source: https://www.theblaze.com/news/democratic-congressman-leaving-his-party-over-impeachment-will-join-republican-party

The post Democratic congressman leaving his party over impeachment, will join Republican Party first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.