Minnesota Democrat Angie Craig undecided on impeachment
Published 3:40 am Thursday, December 12, 2019
MINNEAPOLIS — A Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota said Wednesday that she remains undecided on whether to support the articles of impeachment against Republican President Donald Trump.
Angie Craig, who represents a suburban Twin Cities district that Trump narrowly carried in 2016, said she plans to review the articles, committee testimony and the final report from the House Intelligence Committee this weekend before making a final decision.
“This has really been a somber time to me,” Craig said on a conference call with reporters. “No one runs for Congress wanting to ever have to face the question of whether to vote for articles of impeachment. But at the same time, you know, I have to weigh the evidence and the facts, and fulfill my constitutional duty, and I will certainly be very thoughtful and deliberate as I make that decision.”
Craig’s fellow Minnesota suburban freshman Democrat, Rep. Dean Phillips, who represents a district that strongly backed Hillary Clinton in 2016, told CNN on Tuesday that he’ll support the articles. He had been undecided before.
“I do believe, based on our oath to the Constitution, we have no choice,” Phillips told CNN.
Another Minnesota Democrat, veteran Rep. Collin Peterson, who faces a tough re-election fight in a heavily pro-Trump district if he runs again, remains undecided on the articles of impeachment, spokeswoman Sue Dieter said. Peterson, who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, was one of only two Democrats who voted against the impeachment inquiry, calling the process “hopelessly partisan” and saying it was a mistake to proceed without support from Senate Republicans.
Otherwise, support for impeachment within Minnesota’s congressional delegation breaks down along party lines, with Democratic Reps. Betty McCollum and Ilhan Omar backing it, and Republican Reps. Jim Hagedorn, Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber opposed.