While U.S. House Democrats move ahead with an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, House Republicans continue to complain about the lack of a floor vote authorizing an official investigation.
Jacksonville area Republican Congressman John Rutherford (FL 4th District) told WJCT news Monday that the decision by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA, 12th District) not to call for a vote is ”very misguided.”
“She needs to bring it to a vote. So that all the members of Congress, including those of her own party, can actually have input into whether there was an impeachment proceeding. That is not something that the speaker gets to do unilaterally. It's never been done this way before, then, and I think it's important that she give us a vote,” said Rutherford.
A floor vote, while not required to launch an official impeachment inquiry, would force lawmakers in both parties to publicly declare where they stand on the issue.
For his part, Rutherford said he supports President Trumps’s actions and he sees no grounds for impeachment.
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter at @cydwjctnews.
