U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, who represents a district that voted for President Donald Trump in 2016, joined more than 100 other members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday in voicing support for an impeachment inquiry.
"No person in America is above the law, including the President of the United States," Underwood said in a statement posted on Twitter.
"The Mueller Report lays out substantial evidence that the President's campaign worked with a foreign adversary to influence an election. The President has stated he would welcome foreign help to win the 2020 election. I find this extremely concerning," she continued, adding that the more than 400-page report from then-Special Counsel Robert Mueller provided "a lot of information" but also "left open a lot of key questions that House committees are investigating."
Underwood clarified that she has long supported "the impeachment-related investigation" begun by House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from New York, as well as those being pursued by five other committee chairs.
Nadler's committee filed a lawsuit in federal court last month asking a judge to enforce congressional subpoenas for grand jury information and witness testimony from Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
In recent weeks, Nadler has said publicly that those efforts are "formal impeachment proceedings," though House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has remained opposed to moving toward impeachment, a politically-risky move that would be poised to fail in the Senate, there requiring a two-thirds majority vote to convict.
Underwood said Tuesday that the petition Nadler filed "clearly states that the Judiciary Committee is investigating whether to recommend Articles of Impeachment, essentially an impeachment inquiry."
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"I support this investigation," Underwood continued, adding, "Let me be clear: no one wins when Congress is compelled to investigate impeachment or bring about articles of impeachment. This is a tragedy for our country."
Underwood joins a handful of Democrats in swing districts in supporting an impeachment investigation or inquiry, and is just the second Democrat who represents a district Trump won in 2016 to publicly endorse one, after Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire.
Underwood flipped the suburban 14th District, long thought to be a Republican stronghold, to Democratic control last fall. She joins Reps. Sean Casten, Jan Schakowsky, Bobby Rush, Robin Kelly, Danny Davis, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia and Mike Quigley in calling for or supporting an impeachment inquiry in some form. They are some of the 127 total representatives calling for an impeachment inquiry, according to NPR, constituting a majority of the 235-person House Democratic Caucus.
