Scott Statement on Vote to Table Impeachment Resolution

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after voting to table H.Res. 537, an impeachment resolution against President Donald Trump. 

“I voted twice to impeach Donald Trump after a record of him committing high crimes and misdemeanors was established. Yesterday’s vote to table articles of impeachment on President Trump’s actions in Iran bypassed any standard impeachment process, formal fact-finding, due process or evidentiary hearings. Impeachment requires a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives and two-thirds of the U.S. Senate to vote to convict and remove him. This would be highly unlikely given Congressional Republicans’ repeated pattern of failing to hold Donald Trump accountable for his many documented crimes and wrong-doing. This includes their failure to hold him accountable, even after he sent a violent mob to the U.S. Capitol to overthrow the results of the 2020 election. 

“With regard to the subject of this latest attempt to impeach the President, I have denounced President Trump’s unilateral bombing of Iran without Congressional authorization. I am a co-sponsor of two War Powers Resolutions to terminate any ongoing military action by the United States against Iran, unless authorized by Congress. Unfortunately, over the last few decades, presidents from both parties have tested the constitutional limits of the executive branch’s war powers and previous Congresses have failed to reassert our exclusive constitutional prerogative to declare war. If we were to debate this impeachment resolution, most of the time would be taken up trying to explain how similar actions taken by Democratic presidents were any different from what President Trump did. 

“And while we would be debating this futile impeachment resolution, Congressional Republicans are on the verge of passing their Big, Ugly Bill. That legislation will cause 16 million people to lose their health insurance, 3 million to lose SNAP benefits, over 4 million students to lose Pell Grants, and 18 million children to lose access to free school meals. Despite all this pain and suffering inflicted by Congressional Republicans, their bill still puts the country $3 trillion further in debt, all to fund tax breaks for the wealthy. I have an established record of voting to impeach Donald Trump, but I voted to table this current impeachment resolution, so we can remain focused on protecting America’s working families from the Republican’s Big, Ugly Bill. Our attention has already been diverted from the bill by the ridiculous insults traded between President Trump and Elon Musk, and by the crisis in the Middle East. We cannot allow the Big, Ugly Bill to pass because people were not paying attention.”

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