Ten notable Democrats who do not favor impeachment

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is facing pressure from a growing number of Democrats to start an impeachment inquiry against President Trump.

The number of Democrats backing an inquiry has steadily grown over the recess, with a majority now endorsing it.

Yet there are a number of influential lawmakers who are not calling for impeachment, showing that Pelosi has allies in the internal caucus debate.

Here are 10 notable Democrats who do not favor impeachment.

1. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.)

Jeffries, the possible future Speaker after Pelosi steps down, has not added his support to an inquiry.

The House Democratic Caucus chairman’s stance stands out against possible rivals to succeed Pelosi such as Reps. David Cicilline (R.I.) and Katherine Clark (Mass.), who are backing it.

{mosads}Jeffries previously voiced support for the 2018 articles of impeachment introduced by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), but he has since embraced Pelosi’s view.

That probably doesn’t hurt his relationship with Pelosi, but it will draw criticism from liberal grassroots groups that back impeachment and could also hurt him in a leadership race.

Jeffries says he backs the House Judiciary Committee’s investigations into Trump.

“Mr. Jeffries supports, and is participating in, the House Judiciary Committee investigation, which includes an assessment as to whether the President committed High Crimes & Misdemeanors,” Michael Hardaway, a spokesman for Jeffries, told The Hill in a statement.

2. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)

Lewis voted to advance impeachment-related bills in the GOP Congress but has not come out in favor of opening an inquiry since Democrats regained their majority.

The civil rights icon is the elder statesman of the Georgia Democratic delegation, which has been unanimous in not backing an inquiry.

If Lewis changed course, it would almost undoubtedly lead others to back an inquiry since he carries enormous sway through the caucus, especially in the Georgia delegation and the Congressional Black Caucus.

3. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)

Khanna, a leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is a notable progressive not outwardly backing launching into an impeachment inquiry.

He does back the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation, which the panel’s chairman has likened to impeachment, and he appears on whip lists by The Hill and other media outlets as a “yes” on impeachment because he says the panel’s actions essentially represent an inquiry.

“I would vote ‘yes’ to formally start the inquiry, but I don’t think it requires that vote,” Khanna told reporters on Capitol Hill last month.

“Well, I support Nadler. I support the impeachment inquiry,” he told MSNBC last month, referring to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.).

But he is not actually calling for a literal inquiry that requires a vote of the House and has provided vocal support for Pelosi’s approach, giving cover to the Speaker from liberals who want her to be more aggressive.

A spokesperson said it is a correct characterization that he is not part of the group calling for an impeachment inquiry to be opened.

4. Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.)

Neal, like a number of other committee chairs, has not come out in support of impeachment despite pressure from the left and a primary challenge.

Holyoke, Mass., Mayor Alex Morse is running against Neal on the issue of impeachment while grassroots groups hit him for his stance.

Neal and other chairs who aren’t backing impeachment are showing loyalty and support to Pelosi, making their stance significant.

5. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.)

Meeks says he favors removing Trump but wants to do it in a cautious way.

He suggests it would do little good to impeach Trump if there is not going to be a conviction, something that would require 67 votes in the GOP-controlled Senate.

“As a former Assistant District Attorney, I understand the difference between an indictment and a conviction,” Meeks said in a statement to The Hill.

He says Democrats “should continue to allow every committee, not just the Judiciary Committee, to continue to exercise its constitutional oversight responsibilities. That would allow us to get the evidence that could lead to a conviction, or otherwise demonstrate to the public this President’s culture of corruption so that we remove him through the polls in 2020.”

6. Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.)

Wilson is another black lawmaker who is not backing an inquiry, despite Trump’s unpopularity with black voters in general and her own public battles with the president.

Wilson got into it with Trump when she was listening in on a condolence call the president made to the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, one of the U.S. Green Berets killed in an ambush in Niger in October 2017. Trump said during that call that Johnson “knew what he signed up for,” according to Wilson, who made the remarks public.

“That is not what you say to a grieving widow, a woman who just learned that her husband cannot have an open casket funeral,” said Wilson, whose revelation led to a days-long controversy.

Trump called her “wacky” and accused her of lying.

Also notable is that a majority of Democratic lawmakers from Florida, a key state in the 2020 race, have not backed impeachment.

7. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.)

Sewell is the only House Democrat in Alabama, and she has not voiced support for impeachment.

She represents a district that voted overwhelmingly for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016. Trump easily won the state, and the districts surrounding Sewell’s are strong Republican footholds.

Sewell, a member of both the Congressional Black Caucus and the House Intelligence Committee, has called for the House to focus on its investigations before moving toward impeachment.

“While nothing is off the table, I believe the relevant committees must continue to investigate before moving to impeachment proceedings,” Sewell said in a statement.

8. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio)

Kaptur, the longest serving woman in the House, is the only Ohio Democrat in the lower chamber to not support impeachment.

Kaptur, a centrist who won her district against a Republican challenger by roughly 37 points, has not shied away from criticizing the president, but she has followed Pelosi’s lead in calling for the focus to be on House investigations.

“Congress must continue to work to find the truth and hold President Trump and his campaign and business associates accountable,” Kaptur said in a statement to Toledo Blade in June.

“Only through thorough investigations by all the committees of jurisdiction will we get at the full truth and the full extent to which America’s interests have been compromised through Russian meddling and people at the highest levels dealing in their own self-interest.”

9. Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.)

Lipinski, a conservative Democrat who has seen colleagues support his primary rivals, is not backing an impeachment inquiry.

He and Rep. Cheri Bustos (Ill.), who leads House Democrats’ campaign arm, are the only two Illinois Democrats not in favor of an inquiry.

Lipinski, who has previously pointed to the public polls that suggest a majority of voters do not support removing the president, warns that jumping into impeachment could backfire.

“Right now, I think the best way to remove President Trump from office is voting him out in the 2020 election,” Lipinski said in a statement to The Hill. “This may change as the work of House committees continue, but if the House impeached the president now, it could backfire because the president would be able to say that he was persecuted by the Democratic House but exonerated by the Senate.”

Lipinski is once again facing a primary race. And while Pelosi has supported him in the past, as she does for all incumbents, his opponent is likely to attack him from the left on issues like impeachment and his conservative views on abortion.

10. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.)

Scott opposed the GOP effort to impeach President Clinton in 1998 and has not supported the launching of an inquiry against Trump.

The first African American elected to Congress from Virginia since Reconstruction, he would carry sway with members of his caucus and state if he backed an inquiry. His opposition could give cover to vulnerable Democrats in Virginia, such as Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Elaine Luria.

Mike Lillis contributed.