Centrist Michigan Democrat to vote for impeachment

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) on Monday became the latest vulnerable Democrat to come out in support of the articles of impeachment against President Trump ahead of an expected vote on the House floor this week. 

“Over the past few days, I have done what I was trained to do as a CIA officer who worked for both Republicans and Democrats: I took a step back, looked at the full body of available information, and tried to make an objective decision on my vote,” Slotkin wrote in an op-ed published in the Detroit Free Press. 

Slotkin wrote that she re-read the reports and transcripts, looked back at the articles drafted during the impeachments of former Presidents Nixon and Clinton, and read the documents written by the nation’s founders explaining “impeachment as a tool.” 

She added that she will be voting yes on both articles of impeachment against Trump, one on abuse of power and one on obstruction of Congress. 

Slotkin also wrote that she is making her decision despite any political consequences. 

“Over the past few months, I’ve been told more times that I can count that the vote I’ll be casting this week will mark the end of my short political career. That may be,” she wrote. 

“But in the national security world that I come from, we are trained to make hard calls on things, even if they are unpopular, if we believe the security of the country is at stake,” Slotkin continued. “There are some decisions in life that have to be made based on what you know in your bones is right. And this is one of those times.”

Slotkin unseated a Republican incumbent in the 2018 midterms. The Cook Political Report rates her district as a “Democratic toss up” ahead of the 2020 election. 

Other vulnerable Democrats have come out in support of impeachment in the last week, including Reps. Antonio Delgado (D-N.Y.), Max Rose (D-N.Y.), Susie Lee (D-Nev.), Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) and Sharice Davids (D-Kan.).