The House has twice voted on impeaching President Trump — or more precisely, on a motion to table impeachment — once on December 6, and again a month and a half later on January 19. Although every Republican voted against holding an impeachment vote both times, 12 House Democrats changed their positions.

Nine went from voting against impeachment to for allowing impeachment to move forward. Three went the opposite way, from voting either for allowing impeachment to move forward or voting “present” to voting against it.

Why? GovTrack Insider reached out to all 12 members for comment.

Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL7)

Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL7)

“The reason she voted ‘Present’ on the first Trump impeachment vote was because she is on the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation, and she didn’t want to prejudice herself as one of the investigators,” said said Chris McKenzie, press secretary to Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL7).

“She still feels the same way, but chose to voice that with a ‘no’ vote,” meaning a vote to table the resolution, “on the second impeachment vote rather than a ‘present’ vote.”

That logic did not appear to apply to any of the other eight Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee: Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA28) and Reps. Denny Heck (D-WA10), Jim Himes (D-CT4), Mike Quigley (D-IL5), Jackie Speier (D-CA14), and Eric Swalwell (D-CA15) all voted against impeachment both times; Joaquin Castro (D-TX20) voted “present” both times; and Rep. André Carson (D-IN7) went the other way around, switching from against to for impeachment.

Rep. André Carson (D-IN7)

Rep. André Carson (D-IN7)

“Good catch!” wrote Carson’s communications director Jessica Gail. “Since the previous vote, there have been other developments, like the ‘shithole’ comments blowing up the immigration deal. Additionally, the second set of impeachment articles was different from the earlier vote.”

Although the text of the two impeachment votes were slightly different, the policy impact would have been the same for both. The only textual change was a new paragraph referencing January’s ‘shithole’ comment by Trump in insulting African nations during an immigration meeting. The impeachment proposal concludes the paragraph by saying:

The comment was “thereby attempting to convert his bigoted statements into United States policy, associating the presidency and the people of the United States with bigotry, inciting hate and hostility, and sowing discord among the people of the United States on the basis of national origin.”

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC1)

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC1)

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC1)

“My constituents are tired of the destructive policies and appalling misconduct we are seeing from President Trump and his staff,” explained Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC1) in a statement sent by his communications director.

“The time has come to have an open and transparent debate on the issue of impeachment on the Floor of the House of Representatives.”

While that explains the second vote in favor of impeachment, Butterfield’s office did not reply to a follow-up question about why Butterfield originally voted against impeachment a month prior.

Other Legislators

The other nine members who changed their votes did not respond to GovTrack Insider’s request for comment, so their motives remain unclear. It’s possible that some of them may have been attempting to fend off potential Democratic primary challengers with their votes.

Neither of the top two Democrats in House leadership, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA12) or Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD5), voted to allow the impeachment resolution to get a final vote.

How it Works

Any representative can bring a resolution of impeachment to the floor of the House. On December 6 and January 19, when the resolutions of impeachment were brought to the floor, another representative immediately made a motion to table — or kill — the resolution. A vote in favor was a vote to kill the resolution without a vote on impeachment. A vote against was to allow a final vote on impeachment.

While resolutions to impeach the president are not uncommon, votes on them are exceptionally rare.

Here’s the full list of representatives who changed their position:

Nine who went from voting against impeachment to voting for it to come to the floor: Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC1), André Carson (D-IN7), John Garamendi (D-CA3), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY8), Eddie Johnson (D-TX30), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA47), David Scott (D-GA13), José Serrano (D-NY15), and Nydia Velázquez (D-NY7).

Three who went from voting for impeachment to come to the floor (or voting “present”) to voting against it: Reps. Jim Clyburn (D-SC6), Louise Slaughter (D-NY25), and Terri Sewell (D-AL7).

This article was written by GovTrack Insider staff writer Jesse Rifkin.

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