Freshman Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell of Florida added her name Friday to the growing list of Democratic members who support opening an impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump. Mucarsel-Powell, a member of the Judiciary Committee who unseated GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo in 2018, said she felt a "heightened sense of duty" to serve as a check on Trump’s administration.
"Ultimately, I believe my duty to uphold the Constitution has no political allegiance," Mucarsel-Powell wrote in a statement explaining her decision. "I stand with my colleagues who believe it is our duty to protect our country, it is our duty to protect our democracy, and it is our duty to ensure no person—not even the President—is above the law."
As an Ecuadorian immigrant, Mucarsel-Powell's impeachment statement featured a unique perspective. "Growing up in Latin America,” she wrote, “I saw what happens when corrupt, authoritarian leaders disregard the rule of law and put their own interests above the people.”
But her statement also included elements that have become familiar. Mucarsel-Powell said that she hadn't come to Congress to impeach Trump nor had she reached her decision easily, echoing statements of other members over the past week.
It's no accident that we are seeing Democratic members hit some of the same notes as they declare their support for initiating impeachment proceedings. Politico reports that Democratic members seeking to make their wishes publicly known have been consulting their colleagues on the Judiciary panel who have been openly advocating for such an inquiry. “There may be only 72 [pro-impeachment Democrats] in public, but there are 200 in private,” one Democratic aide told Politico. In particular, colleagues are seeking out advice from Judiciary Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Joe Neguse of Colorado, and Pramila Jayapal of Washington state.
"People who are on committees of jurisdiction have a lot more information, so people are coming to us to ask us what’s going on and we’re sharing our views,” one of the lawmakers said on background. “I think it’s just helping members to understand what the stakes are, think about how they can do this,” the lawmaker added.
The drip, drip, drip is likely to keep coming. At some point, no one will want to be the last Democratic member to come around to the realization that they have both a constitutional crisis on their hands and a constitutional duty to do something about it.