New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew was one of just two Democratic members of the U.S. House to vote "nay" on the resolution to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
The resolution passed Thursday with a vote of 232-196, including 231 "yea" votes from Democrats and one from an Independent.
- MORE NEWS
- Penn State police investigating new sexual abuse allegation against Jerry Sandusky
- Man in custody after four family members found fatally shot at West Philly home
- Researchers publish first-ever spotted lanternfly genome, built from a Berks County insect
Van Drew was elected to Congress last November after serving 12 years as a member of the New Jersey State Senate. Before his time in Trenton, he was mayor of Dennis Township in Cape May County.
In a statement released after the vote, Van Drew explained why he voted "nay", and outlined how he plans to approach the inquiry now that the vote passed the House.
Per CNN:
"Without bipartisan support I believe this inquiry will further divide the country tearing it apart at the seams and will ultimately fail in the Senate," he said in a statement after the vote on Thursday. "However, now that the vote has taken place and we are moving forward I will be making a judgment call based on all the evidence presented by these investigations. My hope is that we are still able to get some work done to help the American people (address issues) like infrastructure, veterans' benefits, environmental protections, immigration reform, reducing prescription drug cost, and strengthening Social Security."
In the wake of his decision to vote "nay", Van Drew's Twitter account — which hasn't tweeted since Wednesday — has been flooded with angry mentions:
Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota was the second Democrat to vote "nay" on the resolution.
Follow Adam & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @adamwhermann | @thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice
Add Adam's RSS feed to your feed reader
Have a news tip? Let us know.