Rep. Haley Stevens says she will vote for President Trump impeachment

Todd Spangler | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin on impeachment decision of President Trump U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin explains impeachment decision of President Donald Trump during a contentious town hall meeting at Oakland University.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Rochester Hills, said Tuesday she will vote to impeach President Donald Trump this week.

Stevens, one of two Michigan Democrats who won in districts where Trump won in 2016, had been one of the few remaining Democrats in the House whose vote was unknown.

“It is clear that President Trump solicited interference from Ukraine in the 2020 United States presidential election and used the powers of his high office to pressure the government of Ukraine to comply,” Stevens said. “By asking for a political favor in exchange for vital military and security assistance that Congress had already appropriated, President Trump jeopardized our national security by leaving a strategic ally vulnerable to Russian aggression.”

Stevens went on to call Trump’s actions “a dangerous abuse of power” that cannot go unchecked.

She said she would vote both for an article of impeachment accusing Trump of abusing his office and another of trying to obstruct Congress’ investigation.

With a Democratic majority in place, the U.S. House is expected as early as Wednesday of this week to pass the articles of impeachment based on evidence that Trump asked the Ukrainian president to investigate a political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, despite a lack of any evidence indicating wrongdoing on Biden’s part. It came at a time when the Trump administration was holding up millions in aid for Ukraine, a U.S. ally.

Biden is a leading contender to be the Democratic nominee for president next year. Trump, meanwhile, has said he was trying to root out corruption in Ukraine.

The president is expected to hold a rally in Battle Creek on Wednesday night.

Stevens said she was “truly heartbroken that the president’s actions have led to this,” and said she intends to “continue to work with all of my colleagues to deliver for Michigan families” on a bipartisan basis. She also said she intends to vote for a trade deal negotiated by the Trump administration to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement because it will “protect Michigan’s best-in-class workforce.”

On Monday, the Free Press first reported that U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, who also won last year in a district won by Trump in 2016, would support both articles of impeachment against Trump as well.

Stevens represents a district that includes parts of western Wayne and southeastern Oakland counties and was previously represented by Republicans. Slotkin represents a previously Republican-held district comprised of northern Oakland County and Ingham and Livingston counties.

Related: Trump's White House has already blasted Slotkin for her decision.

With Stevens’ decision, all seven of Michigan’s Democrats in the House delegation are supporting impeachment, as is U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, I-Cascade Township. The state's six Republicans are all opposed.

Even though the Democrat-led House is almost certain to pass the articles of impeachment, they are almost equally as certain to be voted down next year in a U.S. Senate trial because Republicans hold the majority in that chamber.

Read more:

Trump administration blasts U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin for support of impeachment

Freshmen Democrats want Rep. Justin Amash to serve as impeachment manager

Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.