Dec. 13, 2019 by David Silverberg -- Updated 3:30 pm with Steube tweet and statement.
The US House Judiciary Committee voted today to approve two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.
The vote on both counts was 23 to 17, along party lines. The articles charged abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Rep. Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.), who represents Port Charlotte and Venice, voted with the minority against the articles.
At 10:19 am, Steube tweeted: "For a 5 minute vote in the Judiciary Committee, members were forced to stay in Washington. In my case, I was unable to attend an event addressing beach erosion and shoreline protection on Manasota Key with the Army Corps of Engineers and local constituents. This is unacceptable."
Steube subsequently issued a longer statement.
“This sets a dangerous precedent for future American presidents,” he stated. “With this vote, we have set the precedent that at any time in the future, whenever a majority party in the House doesn’t like what’s happening in the White House, they can impeach the President for Abuse of Power.”
“No collusion, no obstruction, no quid pro quo, no treason, no bribery, and no high crimes and misdemeanors. And the only Abuse of Power that I see committed, is the Abuse of Power of this Democrat-led Congress in their attempt to overturn the 2016 election and the will of 63 million American voters.”