COLUMBUS – Ohio members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted along party lines on two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, mirroring the votes by the entire House membership.
All 12 of Ohio’s Republican members of the House, including Steve Stivers of Columbus and Troy Balderson, of Zanesville, voted no on both articles while Joyce Beatty, of Columbus, and the state’s three other Democrats, voted yes.
“A reputable impeachment process must be driven solely by facts – nothing else. In contrast, this process has operated based only on hearsay, assumptions, and political malice…I have seen no evidence of the president committing impeachable offenses and will not support his impeachment,” Balderson said prior to the vote.
“I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution, as did the president. Unfortunately, he broke that sacred oath, but l will not,” Beatty said. “President Trump must be held accountable and removed from office—or I fear his actions will become even more reckless, dangerous, and lawless.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Trump’s actions gave lawmakers no choice.
Meanwhile, in a record-long two-hour rally speech, Trump told supporters in Michigan within hours of the votes that the effort against him was “illegal” and accused Democrats of demonstrating “deep hatred and disdain” for voters.
The articles of impeachment are supposed to be sent on to the Republican-controlled Senate where the president is expected to be acquitted, despite likely votes for convictions from Democrats, though Ohio’s Democratic senator said his mind was not yet made up.
“I will listen to the evidence and weigh the facts of the case before coming to any decision,” Sen. Sherrod Brown said in a statement issued before the House votes. “I urge my colleagues, of both parties, to do the same.”
However, Pelosi refused to say when she’ll send the impeachment articles to the Senate for the trial after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared that he’s “not an impartial juror.”