Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich has officially backed President Trump's impeachment.
Kasich, who ran against Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, announced his support for the president's impeachment Friday in a CNN interview after White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney admitted Trump withheld aid to Ukraine partly to secure an investigation into the 2016 Democratic National Committee email hack. Mulvaney backtracked on this hours later.
"When I heard what Mulvaney said ... it pushed me really across the Rubicon," Kasich told CNN, going on to say that Trump withholding aid so that "a political operation can't take place" is "totally inappropriate" and an "abuse of power." This does "rise to the level of impeachment," Kasich concluded.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I say it with great sadness," Kasich said. "This is not something I really wanted to do ... But this behavior, in my opinion, cannot be tolerated, and action is going to have to be taken."
Kasich was hesitant last month to back impeachment, saying after the release of the rough transcript of Trump's conversation with Ukraine showing he pushed for investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and the DNC hack, "Does this process move to a place where Republicans can grudgingly say this is a problem. And right now, I don't see it."
The former Ohio governor has often been critical of Trump throughout his presidency, and his name was floated as a possible 2020 primary contender. In August, Kasich said he doesn't see a path to victory against Trump "right now" while adding, "that doesn't mean there wouldn't be a path down the road." Brendan Morrow
-
Groypers: the alt-right group pulled into the foregroundThe Explainer The network is led by alt-right activist Nick Fuentes
-
10 concert tours to see this upcoming fallThe Week Recommends Concert tour season isn't over. Check out these headliners.
-
How to put student loan payments on pauseThe Explainer If you are starting to worry about missing payments, deferment and forbearance can help
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
