Democratic congressman from a Trump district says he will split his impeachment vote


Lo and behold, there is a third way.
Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), a narrowly-elected Democrat representing a Trump-won district, won't be going all in on impeachment, but he's not all out either. Instead, Golden announced Tuesday that he'll split his impeachment vote between the two articles. Golden will vote to impeach Trump on the basis of abuse of power, but he doesn't think the obstructing Congress is a worthy accusation.
In a four-page statement, Golden said Trump "crossed a clear red line" in alleged efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. However, he doesn't think Democrats reached the threshold of "high crimes and misdeanors" when it comes to the obstruction article.
Subscribe to 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.
It looks like Golden will be the only Democrat — and member of Congress, period — to split his vote.
It might qualify as a renegade move, but ultimately it won't alter the full vote much, if it all, and Golden is more or less falling in line with his party. In doing so, he'll join 27 other Democrats from Trump-voting districts who have also committed to impeaching trump. Read more at The Bangor Daily News.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media