Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan publicly expressed support for the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, joining a small but growing number of Republicans breaking from the party’s mostly unwavering support of the president.

“I think we do need an inquiry because we have to get to the bottom of it,” Hogan said in a segment on PBS’ Firing Line that airs Friday night. “I’m not ready to say I support impeachment and the removal of the president, but I do think we should have an impeachment inquiry.”


While Hogan expressed concern about whether the inquiry could be “a fair, objective one” in the Democrat-controlled House, he maintained his position that an inquiry is a reasonable response to Trump’s request of the Ukrainian president to dig up dirt on political rival Joe Biden.

“I don’t see any other way to get the facts,” he concluded.

Hogan joins governors Phil Scott (R-VT) and Charlie Baker (R-MA) in their call for impeachment inquiry proceedings. No Republican members of the House have openly supported the inquiry. If the House impeaches Trump, the Republican-controlled Senate will likely hold a trial, in which Trump must lose 20 of the 53 Republican senators to be removed from office.

Hogan briefly flirted with a primary challenged to Trump, but ultimately decided against the move in June, citing his decision to honor his commitment to the people of Maryland.


The governor is likely quite familiar with the process of impeachment proceedings. His father, Lawrence Hogan, was the only GOP member of the Judiciary Committee in 1974 to vote for all three articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon that the committee ultimately approved.