Polls show that the country is nearly evenly split about whether President Donald Trump should be impeached. That might put Texas politicians in a precarious position given that Texas isn’t the reliably conservative state it once was. Lawmakers who support Trump will please their base of supporters, but they also risk alienating others.
Benjamin Wermund is Washington correspondent for the Houston Chronicle. He says he expects lawmakers to vote along party lines – even moderate Democrats at risk of losing their seats in 2020 and Republicans who’ve expressed concerns about Trump’s conduct.
“Two of the last remaining major question marks — [Democrats] Lizzie Fletcher from Houston and Colin Allred from the Dallas area — both came out in support of impeachment last week,” Wermund says. ” [Republican] Will Hurd — he’s been somewhat critical of Trump … but he’s been pretty clear he’s gonna vote against impeachment.”
Wermund says Hurd doesn’t want an impeachment of Trump to set a “dangerous precedent” for future administrations.
Moderate Democrat Henry Cuellar, who represents a district that covers a large swath of Texas’ southern border, hasn’t announced which way he’ll vote. But he’s still a Democrat, and Wermund says he’ll likely vote along party lines.
“He’s certainly one of the most moderate Democrats in the House,” Wermund says. “But … I would be very surprised if he did break party ranks.”
Written by Caroline Covington.
