WASHINGTON, D.C. — Illinois’s 17th and 18th Congressional Representatives both voted along party lines in the U.S. House’s vote on whether to send two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate.
The measure passed 228-193.
17th District Rep. Cheri Bustos, a Democrat, voted “yea,” while Republican 18th District Rep. Darin LaHood cast a “nay” ballot.
In a statement, Bustos said “with both a profound sense of constitutional duty and deep respect for the Office of the Presidency, I will solemnly cast my vote in favor of both articles of impeachment for Senate consideration.
“No one is above the law, there is beyond ample evidence that President Trump abused the tremendous powers of the presidency to jeopardize our national security and that of our allies.”
LaHood was emphatic in reasoning for casting his vote the way he did, calling the process “a blunder, a circus, [and] a hoax, in some ways.
“When I think about impeachment in our constitituion, I think about it as the nuclear option; the last resort,” he said.
“I’m a former federal prosecutor, and I’ve looked at the facts and evidence. I’ve read the whisteblower report and all the transcripts… I feel very strongly in my ‘no’ vote.”
The vote to send the articles to the Senate also approved the seven managers Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi chose to oversee the Senate trial: Reps. Adam Schiff, Zoe Lofgren, Jason Crow, Jerry Nadler, Hakeem Jeffries, Sylvia Garvia, and Val Demings.
