The House moments ago passed a resolution by a vote of 232-196, which formalizes the procedures of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-2) (pictured above) and Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson from Minnesota were the only two Democrats voting against moving forward with the inquiry into impeachment. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-4), the New Jersey Congressional Delegation’s lone Republican, also voted no. The other ten Democrats from New Jersey voted “aye” on the resolution.

“Today, I voted Nay on H.Res. 660,” Van Drew said, in an explanatory statement. “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. However, now that the vote has taken place and we are moving forward I will be making a judgement 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 like infrastructure, veteran’s benefits, environmental protections, immigration reform, reducing prescription drug cost, and strengthening Social Security.”

The Republican National Committee (RNC) issued a statement against the battleground Democratic incumbents.

Today’s vote goes to show that this impeachment witch hunt has been a sham from the beginning, and Democrats have thrown all precedent, due process and transparency out the window in their fanatical quest to take down President Trump, the organization noted.

“Democrats like Andy Kim, Mikie Sherrill, Tom Malinowski and Josh Gottheimer chose to side with Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and the socialist squad over their constituents, and have officially committed political malpractice. Americans will remember how these Democrats chose to pursue division and investigation over progress and promises,” said RNC Spokesperson Mandi Merritt.

Moments after Democrats voted to advance their efforts to impeach President Trump, Congressional Leadership Fund launched new digital ads in the districts of all 29 battleground Democrats representing districts won by Trump who voted to march forward with impeachment. Their New Jersey targets are Kim, Gottheimer and Sherrill.

The full impeachment story is here.

“Today marks a sad day in American History,” said state senator Joe Pennacchio (R-26), co-chair of the Trump Reelection Campaign in New Jersey. “House Democrats codified the weaponization of impeachment and its self serving Kangaroo Court Rules that took direct aim at our Democracy. No longer do Democrats show any pretense of due process. The first casualty of this Democrat inspired political war was indeed the truth. This trivialization of the impeachment process marks a turning point where National elections no longer matter. Where through legislative gimmickry the will of the people can be nullified. Americans will take note. There will be a price to pay at the ballot box.”

2020 Presidential candidate U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) had a very different point of view, and issued the following statement after the

House of Representatives voted to formalize the impeachment inquiry:

“House Democrats are running these proceedings in a way that puts partisan politics aside and sets up a process that builds consensus by ensuring the American people see all of the damning evidence against Donald Trump. He may have betrayed his oath of office, but we will honor ours.”

Malinowski, for his part, issued a detailed explanation of his vote in favor of the impeachment inquiry.

“Today the House of Representatives passed a Resolution to provide the path forward for public hearings as part of the next phase of the impeachment inquiry,” said the congressman from the 7th District.

“I have been taking part in the witness depositions, and personally know several of the diplomats who have testified to us from my time at the State Department,” he added. “They are patriots, not partisans, who have honorably served Republican and Democratic presidents and who also see their oath to the Constitution as a sacred trust. They have consistently told us that President Trump conditioned U.S. support for Ukraine, which Republicans and Democrats agree is in our national security interest, on “investigations” that would hurt his political opponents.

“As with any criminal investigation, we have begun by interviewing witnesses in private, but with both Democrats and Republicans participating. With this vote, Congress and the American people will be able to judge for themselves the extent of President Trump’s abuse of power. The law is clear: no president can ask a foreign government for help in an election. No president should be allowed to abuse his or her power to leverage political favors from a foreign power. To protect our country and our Constitution, we must uphold these rules, or we give every future president license to break them.”

Malinowski faces the prospect next year of going up against state Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr. (R-21), who will first have his own GOP Primary to get through against Rosemary Becchi.

Fellow freshman Congresswoman Sherrill issued a statement as well.

“The evidence that the President of the United States endangered our national security and used his office for personal gain prompted me to advocate that Congress use all means at its disposal to investigate what happened,” Sherrill said. “My vote today supports the procedures that will ensure the American people understand this investigative process and will hear the evidence in an open and public forum.”

Veteran U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-8) released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed

H.Res.660 which provides a path forward for public impeachment inquiry hearings:

“Today’s vote is an important step in establishing the procedure for open hearings in the House’s ongoing impeachment inquiry. After collecting testimony in a confidential and secure setting to ensure all witnesses are free from outside influence or attempts to align stories it is vital that the American people hear directly from witnesses. Regardless of party, this step should be something everyone can agree upon in our pursuit of truth and transparency. The sole authority to impeach was granted to the House of Representatives in our Constitution to serve as a last resort in our system of checks and balances and to ensure that no one is above the law. Preserving our democratic institutions and doing our constitutional duty must rise above individuals and political parties which is why I voted in favor of today’s resolution.”

Veteran U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-12) offered her “aye” vote rationale here:

The President has shown a disregard not only for Congress’s oversight powers, but disregard for the rulings of the Supreme Court. I promised to fight for my constituents and that’s why I’m calling for an #ImpeachmentInquiryNow. Keep speaking up, keep standing up, keep showing up. pic.twitter.com/L9CKlCVKKL — Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) July 11, 2019

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