Freshman Democrat Allred to vote ‘yes’ on articles of impeachment

Colin Allred, a Texas Democrat who earlier this week was unsure how to vote on impeachment, said Friday he’s a yes.

“Next week I intend to vote yes, as it is clear the President engaged in an abuse of his authority, putting himself above the law, and his personal interests above the nation’s,” Allred said in a statement.

As late as Wednesday afternoon, Allred’s office declined to comment on his thoughts about the articles of impeachment. The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines Friday to approve articles of impeachment saying President Donald Trump engaged in obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.

On Tuesday, Allred told CNN that he had not yet made a decision on impeachment but, “whatever decision I make would be based on what I think is consistent with the Constitution, with our values as a country, what I think is best for north Texas — and not any partisan consideration.”

Allred announced his decision to vote yes on those articles shortly after Friday’s committee vote.

Allred, first elected to Congress in 2018, is considered a Democrat in a vulnerable seat, as he beat longtime incumbent Pete Sessions, a Republican, in 2018 by 6.5 points. His district voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton by 1.9 points in 2016, though Trump won Texas in 2016 by nine points.

The articles of impeachment, which face a full House vote next week, came after more than two months of investigation into Trump’s ties in Ukraine and whether or not he abused the power of his office by withholding congressionally mandated military aid in exchange for investigations into his political rivals.

House Judiciary Committee Democrats determined that he abused his power of office by doing so and formally announced that article of impeachment on Tuesday. The obstruction of Congress charge stemmed from Trump’s refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas for documents and witness testimony in their impeachment investigation.

“These uncontroverted facts are an unacceptable violation of his oath of office and constitute an impeachable abuse of power. This is a somber moment for our nation, and I have not reached this decision lightly,” Allred said in his statement Friday.

This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 11:55 AM.