House Democrats Appear to Have the Votes to Impeach President Trump

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), (Front C), flanked by House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) (R), House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) (L), House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) (2nd L), House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) (C), and House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) (2nd R), speaks as Democrats announced articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Dec. 10, 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

After several vulnerable Democrat House members indicated they would support articles of impeachment on Monday and Tuesday, it appears that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) caucus has the votes to impeach President Donald Trump this week, according to a review by the Epoch Times.

At least 20 Democratic representatives of the 31 districts that voted for Trump in 2016 have announced they would support two articles of impeachment. The Democrats need a minimum of 216 votes to impeach, assuming all members of the House are present and voting. Barring any surprises, the current number of Democratic House members can vote to impeach when the two articles hit the floor on Wednesday.

For several weeks, a number of these Democrats have held out on saying whether they would vote to impeach.

But now, Reps. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), Matt Cartwright (Pa.), Joe Cunningham (S.C.), Ben McAdams (Utah), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Abigail Spanberger (Va.), Andy Kim (N.J.) Chris Pappas (N.H.), Xochitl Torres Small (N.M), were among those who made their plans public on Monday. On Tuesday, Reps. Anthony Brindisi (D-N.Y.), Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), and Kendra Horn (D-Okla.) said they would favor impeachment.

Over the past few weeks, Democratic Reps. Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.) Angie Craig (Minn.), Antonio Delgado (N.Y.), Max Rose (N.Y.), Conor Lamb (Pa.), Susie Lee (Nev.), and Tom O’Halleran (Ariz.) said they would vote for impeachment, according to the review. Another vulnerable Democrat, Lucy McBath (Ga.), voted in the Judiciary Committee on articles of impeachment.

Two Democrats—Reps. Jeff Van Drew (N.J.) and Collin Peterson (Minn.)—have signaled they will not vote to impeach Trump. All of the aforementioned Democratic members of Congress other than Van Drew, who reportedly is planning to switch parties, and Peterson voted “yea” during an Oct. 31 vote on an impeachment resolution. They joined Republicans in opposing the measure.

And as The Wall Street Journal reported, “By Monday afternoon, at least 18 from the 31 Democratic-held districts that Mr. Trump won in the 2016 presidential race had announced they would support the abuse-of-power and obstruction of Congress charges.”

The paper also reported that “with the new announcements of support, and assuming no unexpected defections, Democrats have enough votes to impeach the president. While Americans nationally are about evenly split on whether they back impeachment, according to an average of polls by RealClearPolitics, some of the Democrats in the Trump-won districts acknowledged potential political risks.”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who is leading his party’s effort to take over the House next year, issued a warning to those vulnerable Democrats who are voting to impeach the president.

“If you’re one of those 31 Democrats, you’re a little afraid with just hearing what Nancy Pelosi just did [in] putting out this timeline for articles of impeachment. She just gave up your job,” McCarthy told Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures“ earlier this month. “Those 31 Democrats … I think they may be a one-termer,” he said.