Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) said Wednesday that she supports the articles of impeachment against President Trump during a moving opening statement in which she remembered her son’s death which pushed her into advocacy and later her congressional career.
“I believe the president abused the power of the office, putting his own interests above the needs of our nation, above the needs of the people I love and I serve, and for that I must vote my conscience,” McBath said Wednesday night during the House Judiciary Committee markup of the articles of impeachment.
“And I do so with a heavy heart, and a grieving soul,” she continued. “This is not why I came to Washington; I came to Washington because I love my country. I came to Washington full of hope and empowered by my community to serve them in Congress … but after this vote I will continue to champion the ideals that this country instilled in me. To stand up for the safety and security of our communities and to fight for an America I prayed that my son Jordan would be proud of.”
McBath began her opening statement by recalling her hopes of becoming a mother. She continued by telling the story of losing her only son, Jordan, seven years ago when died during an outbreak of gun violence.
Jordan, then 17, was fatally shot at a gas station in 2012 after an argument over loud music.
“I found myself asking God how could this happen, how did He allow this to happen to me, to my family and to Jordan? I prayed to God and found the strength to forgive [the] killer,” she said.
McBath said that since then, she’s stood up for “families like mine,” noting that survivors of shootings and families worry about facing the next massacre.
“I made a promise to my community that I would act,” she said. “I promised that I would take that sense of protection, that love a mother has for her son and I would use it for my community, for the American people.”
McBath, a vulnerable freshman representative, said she is proud of the work she has done and the bills she’s passed that have been signed into law by Trump.
“But I am not proud of the president’s actions that brings us here tonight,” she said.