Who are the House Democrats backing Trump impeachment?

The nearly 60 House Democrats publicly supportive of launching an impeachment inquiry against President Trump represent a microcosm of the caucus, showing how fervor is spreading across diverse factions despite leadership’s efforts to contain it.

Most of the members who support an impeachment inquiry are liberal. They include much of the Congressional Progressive Caucus leadership as well as 17 members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), whose members have long been among the most outspoken on impeachment.

Half of the members of the House Judiciary Committee, which would be charged with impeachment proceedings, already support launching an inquiry.

{mosads}And while Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is opposed to impeachment, at least 11 of her home-state colleagues have come out in favor of moving forward.

The key constituency most reluctant to push ahead with impeachment are the swing-state members who helped Democrats retake their majority. So far, Rep. Tom Malinowski (N.J.) is the only Democrat who flipped a GOP-held district last fall to back starting an inquiry.

The Hill’s whip list currently lists 58 Democrats in support of an impeachment inquiry. Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.) is the only Republican to say Trump engaged in impeachable conduct.

About two-thirds of the Democrats publicly in favor of starting an impeachment inquiry are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

They include the two Progressive Caucus co-chairmen, Reps. Mark Pocan (Wis.) and Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), a Judiciary Committee member. Three vice chairmen who also sit on the Judiciary Committee have come out in favor of an impeachment inquiry: Reps. David Cicilline (R.I.), Joseph Neguse (Colo.) and Veronica Escobar (Texas).

Most Progressive Caucus members represent safely blue districts and constituents more supportive of impeachment.

Progressive freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) — who drew attention on her first day in office in January by pledging to “impeach the motherf—er” — introduced a resolution in late March calling for an impeachment inquiry. It now has 12 co-sponsors.

“I think that at this point, it is getting to become so overwhelming that we need to uphold the rule of law and the Constitution of the United States,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a Tlaib ally, told reporters this week. “I think that the tide is turning with the public.”

One of the most vocal advocates in the House has been Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who forced two floor votes on his articles of impeachment in 2017 and 2018.

The articles of impeachment from Green, a CBC member, accused Trump of stoking racial divisions in America.

“At some point we will have to say the word ‘impeachment’ if we’re going to get to impeachment. And I hear people saying that the president should be impeached. So it shouldn’t be a difficult thing to say, and hopefully we’ll get to it,” Green said.

Just under two-thirds of Green’s CBC colleagues supported his articles of impeachment on the House floor in the last Congress. The bitter feelings toward Trump among black lawmakers began long before the president even took office — when he raised doubts about whether then-President Obama was born in the U.S.

And it’s only gotten worse since Trump engaged in racial controversies such as casting equal blame on white supremacists and counterprotesters for the 2017 violence in Charlottesville, Va., as well as personally attacking multiple members of the CBC.

“Given where the CBC historically has been with respect to this president, we have been the No. 1 company that he rejects. We don’t get invited to any meetings,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), a CBC member, said on MSNBC’s “Kasie DC.”

Thompson is one of nine Democrats endorsing an impeachment inquiry against Trump who were in office the last time the House voted to impeach a president: Bill Clinton in 1998.

He’s also one of five House committee chairmen to call for impeaching Trump, a group that includes Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.).

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), meanwhile, has been privately pushing Democratic leadership to begin an impeachment inquiry, only to be rebuffed. But half of his committee’s members — many of whom are in safe liberal districts — are already on board with the idea.

“My district’s been for impeachment for a long time,” said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), who chairs a Judiciary subcommittee. “It’s hard not to get there.”

California, one of the bluest states in the country, has many pro-impeachment voices.

“I think you can count members from every corner of our caucus,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who supports impeachment, said in an interview. “You’re going to get a lot of Californians simply because we’re by far the biggest delegation.”

The group of 11 California Democrats on board with launching an impeachment inquiry now doesn’t include Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), who reintroduced articles of impeachment on the first day of the new Congress in January.

Sherman said he thinks Democrats should build more public support first. “Impeachment without removal is not where I want to go,” he said.

Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.), who flipped a GOP-held district last fall, is among the Judiciary Committee members who haven’t endorsed an impeachment inquiry. But she indicated that it’s on her mind.

“To tell you the truth, I have been thinking more and more about when it would be appropriate to start the inquiry,” Mucarsel-Powell told CNN’s “New Day” on Friday.

“I’ve read [special counsel Robert Mueller’s] report. There is clear evidence that this president has obstructed justice, and I think that there have to be serious consequences,” she added.

Another freshman Judiciary Committee member, Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), won his race by more than 20 points last fall but represents a district that’s been targeted by the GOP in recent years. He’s already on board with an impeachment inquiry.

“I accept that this conclusion will be unpopular with some, but it is the right thing to do,” Stanton said.

And while the nearly 60 House Democrats publicly supportive of impeachment represent only about a quarter of the 235-member caucus, Huffman said he’s heard privately from colleagues who are more are on board than they’re letting on.

“I know the number’s higher,” Huffman said. “But many members don’t want to get ahead of leadership. And so that’s the delicate process that is underway.”

Mike Lillis contributed to this story.