Texas Reps. Allred and Fletcher, Democrats facing tough 2020 race, will vote to impeach Trump

Updated at 7:10 p.m.: Revised to include statement from Houston Rep. Lizzie Fletcher backing impeachment.

WASHINGTON – Dallas Rep. Colin Allred on Friday announced that he will vote to impeach President Donald Trump, saying “it is clear the president engaged in an abuse of his authority, putting himself above the law, and his personal interests above the nation’s.”

“These uncontroverted facts are an unacceptable violation of his oath of office and constitute an impeachable abuse of power,” he said in a news release. “This is a somber moment for our nation, and I have not reached this decision lightly.”

Allred, a freshman lawmaker, had been one of three Texas Democrats to not yet make clear their position on impeachment.

His announcement came shortly after the House Judiciary Committee on Friday voted along party lines to approve two articles of impeachment against Trump over his Ukraine dealings. One article covers abuse of power, while the other covers obstruction of Congress.

Later Friday another Texas Democrat, Rep. Lizzie Fletcher of Houston, also announced that she will vote to impeach Trump.

“As a member of Congress, I also swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” she said in a news release. “And that is why, when the articles of impeachment are presented in the House, I will vote yes on both.”

That leaves Rep. Henry Cuellar of Laredo as the only one of the 13 Texas Democrats in Congress who has not said how he’ll vote next week, when the Democrat-run House is expected to take up – and pass – the impeachment articles.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing, calling the Democrats’ impeachment push a “scam” and a “witch hunt.” It’s widely expected that he will be acquitted in the GOP-run Senate, which is poised to take up the matter early next year.

While the outcome in the House is considered a foregone conclusion, there’s been some question about how so-called “frontline” Democrats would vote.

Allred last year helped Democrats win back the House for the first time in years by upsetting a longtime GOP congressman. That standing has made him a top 2020 target for Republicans, who have kept close tabs on where the Democrat stands on impeachment.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s campaign arm, was quick to criticize Allred’s decision.

“Colin Allred ran on a promise to get results for Texans, but all he’s focused on in Washington is his deranged quest to remove President Trump from office,” said Bob Salera, an NRCC spokesman. “Allred is a partisan hack and will be voted out next November.”

But Allred, perhaps anticipating that jab, said he “will not allow this process to distract me from the important work of delivering real results for North Texas families. The Democrat, just on Thursday, attended a White House event to promote the need for expanded paid parental leave.

“This is not about partisan politics,” Allred said, referring to impeachment. “It is about protecting our democracy.”

Many other Texas Democrats have long been vocal advocates for impeaching Trump, particularly since the controversy emerged over Ukraine. Even before that, Houston Rep. Al Green was among the first Democrats in the House to advocate for impeachment.

But Allred had been in the noncommittal camp with Fletcher, another freshman who last year toppled a GOP incumbent, and Cuellar, a centrist with a GOP-friendly voting record.

Fletcher had kept open her options earlier this week. She issued a statement then that said Trump “engaged in certain conduct.” But she only went so far to say that she would “review and consider the proposed articles of impeachment when they are presented to Congress.”

That position drew the attention of the Trump campaign, which accused Fletcher of backing down from her position in September that the House “should act swiftly to investigate and should be prepared to use the remedy exclusively in its power: impeachment.”

“What has happened between then and now?” Trump Victory spokeswoman Samantha Cotten said. “Could it be the dwindling support for impeachment among Americans?”

But Fletcher on Friday was blunt, saying that Trump “used the power of the Office of the President to solicit a personal, political benefit."

Cuellar, meanwhile, said earlier this week that he was “going to wait ‘til everything is brought in and then once everything’s brought in, I’ll make a decision based on the evidence.” He said to expect a definitive answer next week.

His deliberations have earned him attacks from his primary opponent Jessica Cisneros, a progressive activist who accused Cuellar of being “Trump’s favorite Democrat.”

Texas Republicans, in turn, have been some of Trump’s most passionate defenders, and the state’s GOP delegation is expected to vote in unison against the impeachment articles. Some political handicappers are predicting that not a single House Republican will buck Trump.