Dem Rep. Brenda Lawrence Jumps Ship, Says Impeachment Has No 'Value' Leigh Vogel / Images
U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence (Leigh Vogel / Images)
By Erin Coates
Published November 26, 2019 at 4:19pm
Democratic Rep. Brenda Lawrence has abruptly announced she does not see “the value” of impeaching the president during an election year.
The Michigan representative, who has previously supported Sen. Kamala Harris’ calls for impeachment, made the announcement on Sunday in a Michigan radio interview.
“We are so close to an election,” Lawrence said on No BS News Hour. “I will tell you, sitting here knowing how divided this country is, I don’t see the value of taking him out of office.
“But I do see the value of putting down a marker saying his behavior is not acceptable. It’s in violation of office and of the oath of office of a president of the United States, and we have to be clear that you cannot use your power of the presidency to withhold funds to get a foreign country to investigate an American citizen for your own personal gain. There’s no way around that.”
Instead of kicking Trump out of office, Lawrence says she wants to have a discussion with the rest of her party and caucus to censure the president.
“I want him censured. I want it on the record that the House of Representatives did their job and they told this president and any president coming behind him that this is unacceptable behavior and, under our Constitution, we will not allow it,” she said.
“I am a Democrat, but I am an independent United States of America citizen.”
Lawrence’s announcement comes on the heels of polls showing that support for impeachment has slipped significantly.
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