The House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump Wednesday evening, mostly split upon party lines. Upstate New York representatives followed suit.
Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D-Utica) was elected last year in a district won heavily by President Trump in 2016. He was one of around a dozen Democrats watched closely as they considered their vote going into this week, but ultimately came out in support of impeachment.
"I went back this weekend, and laid out all the transcripts on my table, got the highlighter out, made lots of notes, reviewed several articles about impeachment, looked at some articles that were written by constitutional law experts and ultimately came to the conclusion that there was sufficient evidence to move forward,” Brindisi told WRVO in his House office Tuesday.
Brindisi voted for both articles, something he said was difficult for him to do, having had some legislative success in working with the administration on veterans' care and a replacement for NAFTA. But he thinks voters won’t be that concerned about impeachment at the ballot box in 2020.
"Judging from town halls that I've had over the last year, impeachment is not a top concern for people, but lowering the cost of prescription drugs is," Brindisi said.
Upstate Reps. Tom Reed (R-Corning), Elise Stefanik (R-Schuylerville), and John Katko (R-Camillus) all voted against impeachment. The House must now select impeachment managers, representatives who will act as attorneys in a Senate trial, which is set for next month.
