Patty Murray, No. 3 Senate Democrat, Calls For House To Start Impeachment Proceedings Against Trump

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington), the No. 3 Senate Democrat, pushed on Sunday for House Democrats to launch impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

“I agree with my fellow members of the Washington delegation that, as we have learned about the gravity of the potential threats to our democracy identified in special counsel Mueller’s report, it has become clear that the House should begin proceedings to determine whether the president’s actions necessitate impeachment,” Murray, the Senate Assistant Democratic Leader said in a statement.

Murray, a ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, joins a growing list of Democratic lawmakers supporting impeachment after Special Counsel Robert Mueller‘s public House testimony last week about his 448-page Russia investigation report.

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Multiple lawmakers from Washington, including Democratic Reps. Denny Heck, Suzan DelBene, Kim Schrier and Derek Kilmer, all publicly said they back impeachment inquiries, thus putting the total number of members of Congress supporting the effort at 111 as of Monday afternoon, according to CBS News.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) has continued to oppose impeaching Trump, despite calls from other top Democrats like House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to pursue this effort. Pelosi has said she believes impeachment without bipartisan support would only exacerbate divisiveness in the country.

In his testimony, Mueller said Trump could potentially be charged with obstruction of justice after leaving office. The special counsel again emphasized that he couldn’t exonerate the president.