Here's Where NYC's Reps Stand On Impeaching Trump

NEW YORK — More New York City lawmakers have thrown support behind impeachment proceedings for President Donald Trump amid allegations that he asked a foreign government to dig up dirt on one of his election rivals.

Reps. Tom Suozzi and Gregory Meeks, both moderate Democrats representing parts of Queens, become the latest Big Apple representatives on Tuesday to declare support for impeachment proceedings after reports that Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine as he urged that country's leader to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son.

That meant all but one member of the city's House of Representatives delegation — Rep. Max Rose of Staten Island — said the chamber should move to impeach Trump, a Republican, as pressure mounted for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to do so.

Support for impeachment has grown among House Democrats over the past week as news reports have detailed Trump's efforts to press Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Biden — who is running to be Trump's opponent in the 2020 presidential election — and his son, Hunter Biden, who worked for the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.

Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry Tuesday afternoon following The Washington Post's Monday night report that the White House withheld nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine leading up to Trump's July 25 phone call with Zelensky.

Trump confirmed Tuesday that he held back the money over concerns about corruption, according to the Associated Press. He said he will release the transcript of his call with Zelensky on Wednesday.

New York City's 12 impeachment supporters are among about 200 House members backing proceedings that could lead to Trump's removal from office, according to a list compiled by The New York Times.

The president would ultimately face a trial in the Senate if the House's 435 lawmakers vote to impeach him. Only two presidents have ever been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Neither of them were convicted at trial.

Here is where New York City's members of the House of Representatives stand on impeachment, based on their public statements. All 13 are Democrats.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, 5th Congressional District (Queens)

Meeks came out in favor of impeachment proceedings Tuesday afternoon after months of hesitation. He reportedly said in May that an impeachment probe "does not make any sense, because you can't convict him (Trump) of anything."

The Queens County Democratic Party chair suggested Friday that Trump's talks with Zelensky had crossed a line. His statement of support for an impeachment investigation Tuesday focused on the Trump administration's decision to keep details of the whistleblower complaint from Congress.

"It is now our responsibility," Meeks said on CNN. "The president has refused to do it, so therefore there's no other alternative but (an) impeachment inquiry."

Rep. Tom Suozzi, 3rd Congressional District (Queens, Long Island)

Suozzi expressed support for an impeachment inquiry Tuesday after long hesitating to do so. In a statement, he said Trump's efforts to pressure Zelensky were "reminiscent" of his alleged solicitation of help from the Russian government in the 2016 campaign.

Suozzi also criticized the Trump administration's refusal to show Congress a whistleblower complaint related to the president's talks with Zelensky as well as Special Counsel Robert Mueller's lengthy report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

"Inaction would give this president (and future presidents) assurances that their misdeeds are immune from punishment," Suozzi said in the statement. "... I believe that it is my Constitutional duty and the duty of the United States Congress to move forward with impeachment inquiries."

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, 8th Congressional District (Brooklyn, Queens)

The House Democratic Caucus chair was careful not to buck Pelosi, his party's leader in the chamber, before she announced the official impeachment investigation.

In recent statements to news outlets, Jeffries said the House Judiciary Committee should "follow the facts" in its investigation of Trump's alleged misconduct, which had been called an impeachment probe, without making a full-throated endorsement of impeachent.

But he stood firmly behind Pelosi's inquiry in a Tuesday night television interview.

"The speaker has made clear that this is going to be as thorough and as expeditious as possible," Jeffries said on CNN. "We have a responsibility to follow the facts, apply the law and be guided by the United States Constitution. We're going to continue to do that."

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, 10th Congressional District (Manhattan, Brooklyn)

Nadler is a key player in the impeachment process as the chair of the House Judiciary Committee. The panel is investigating whether to recommend articles of impeachment to the full House, Nadler has said.

The lawmaker said last week that he thinks the president should be impeached — but that the House cannot do so "against the will of the American people."

"We have to make sure the next president or the one after him or her knows there's a real penalty to be paid," Nadler said Sept. 16 on WNYC. "That's why the impeachment is necessary, even if we cannot get a vote in the Senate."

Rep. Eliot Engel, 16th Congressional District (The Bronx, Westchester County)

Engel called for an impeachment inquiry July 31, a week after Mueller testified before Congress. He also chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which is one of the panels investigating Trump's efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government.

"Trump’s story changes by the hour but one thing is abundantly clear: What the President has publicly admitted to is already a grave abuse of office," Engel tweeted Monday. "My colleagues & I are accelerating a push for more on the Trump/Ukraine Scandal."

Rep. Grace Meng, 6th Congressional District (Queens)

Meng first declared her support for an impeachment inquiry on July 30, also about a week after Mueller's testimony. She repeated her stance Monday, saying Americans should be "disturbed" that Trump asked a foreign government to investigate one of his political opponents.

"His lawlessness has no limits," Meng said on Twitter. "#Congress must see the transcript of what was said. The House must move forward w/ impeachment proceedings."

Rep. José Serrano, 15th Congressional District (The Bronx)

The longtime lawmaker — who is not seeking re-election next year following his Parkinson's disease diagnosis — has not yet publicly commented on the Ukraine matter. But he came out in support of an impeachment inquiry on July 29 following Mueller's testimony.

"It is clear to me that but for a legal opinion preventing a sitting president from being indicted, that this President would have already been criminally charged for his actions," Serrano said then. "No one in this country, not even the President, should be above the law, and Congress is the only government body that can ensure justice is served."

Rep. Nydia Velazquez, 7th Congressional District (Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan)

Velazquez got behind an impeachment inquiry on June 20, saying her position was based on Mueller's findings and feedback from her constituents. She said Monday that Trump's efforts to pressure Zelensky provide more evidence that the proceedings are necessary.

"The latest revelations suggesting the President may have pressured a foreign leader to investigate a political rival have made even clearer the dangers confronting our democracy," Velazquez said on Twitter. "That's why, today, I'm reaffirming my call for impeachment."

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, 12th Congressional District (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn)

Maloney first joined the calls for impeachment hearings on June 15 based on the Mueller report. She stood by her position Sunday based on the alleged Ukraine scandal.

"These latest revelations re: POTUS and Ukraine are absolutely outrageous - they take impeachable offenses to a whole new level, and emphasize the urgency for IMMEDIATE action," Maloney said on Twitter.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 14th Congressional District (Queens, The Bronx)

The face of the Democratic Party's left flank initially endorsed impeachment in April after Mueller released his report on Russian election meddling and Trump's efforts to interfere with the special counsel's probe.

She suggested over the weekend that Democrats are shirking their duties by declining to impeach Trump.

"At this point, the bigger national scandal isn’t the president’s lawbreaking behavior - it is the Democratic Party’s refusal to impeach him for it," Ocasio-Cortez said in a Saturday tweet.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, 13th Congressional District (Manhattan, The Bronx)

Espaillat got behind Trump's impeachment as early as November 2017, when he signed on to Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen's legislation introducing articles of impeachment. He repeated his stance after Mueller's testimony in July and again on Tuesday amid the Ukraine revelations.

"Once again, Donald Trump is trying to pull a foreign country into our election cycle and using the powers of highest office in the land for his personal gain," Espaillat tweeted, adding the hashtag "#ImpeachNow."

Rep. Yvette Clarke, 9th Congressional District (Brooklyn)

Clarke was among the first House Democrats to express support for Trump's impeachment. She hinted at the prospect at a February 2017 town hall event — just a month into Trump's term — and expressed firm support for impeachment on Twitter in May of that year.

"He’s now interfered with our elections TWICE. We must #ImpeachTrump," Clarke tweeted Tuesday morning.

Rep. Max Rose, 11th Congressional District (Staten Island, Brooklyn)

Rose won his seat from a Republican last year and is the only New York City lawmaker to oppose impeachment. He argued earlier this month that impeachment would "only tear our country further apart and we will see no progress on the enormous challenges we face as a nation."

But Rose still has concerns about Trump's interactions with the Ukrainian leader. In a statement, he urged House Republicans to join his call for the Trump administration to release all the documents related to the whistleblower complaint.

"This is a serious crisis, all options must be on the table, and it's time Republicans are as interested in the truth as the American people," Rose said Tuesday.

This story has been updated.