WASHINGTON, DC — Rules Committee Chairman James P. McGovern (D-MA) managed the rule bringing H. Res. 755, impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors, to the House Floor.
Excerpts from McGovern’s speech are included below. Video of his full remarks is available here
“In their wisdom, the Founders understood they could not anticipate what the future would bring. They gave subsequent generations – us – the chance to decide precisely what our government would become. To decide with each passing day what a nation defined by the rule of law was willing to tolerate. That is what brings us here today. To decide nearly two and half centuries later whether the United States is still a nation where no one is above the law. Or whether America becomes a land run by those who act more like kings or queens. As if the law doesn’t apply to them.”
“Our inquiry is simply to answer the following question: did President Trump and his top advisors corruptly withhold official government actions to obtain an improper advantage in the next election? We now know, through the hard work of our investigative committees and because of the president’s own admission, that the answer to that question is yes.”
“The president of the United States endangered our national security. The president undermined our democracy. And the president – a successor to the same office as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln – betrayed his oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
“If a president undermining our national security and using the federal government for his own selfish personal gain is not impeachable conduct, I don’t know what is.”
“I’ve heard some on the other side suggest this process is about overturning an election. That is absurd. This is about protecting our democracy.”
“11 months ago, many of us took an oath right here in this chamber. I’ve had the privilege to take that oath twelve times now, and I believe it is not just for show. It is a contract between each of us and the people we represent. To place the national interest above partisan interests. And to preserve those laws that make our country unique. We cannot reconcile the president’s abuse of power and obstruction of Congress with the oath of office that we took.”
“This is a democracy-defining moment. History will judge us by whether we keep intact that fragile republic handed down to us by our forebears more than 200 years ago. Or whether we allow it to be changed forever.”