Who in the House is calling for impeachment?

Updated: 4:40 p.m., Sept. 24, 2019

Momentum to pursue articles of impeachment is growing as a flood of House Democrats once wary of the issue now publicly saying the allegations from a whistleblower that President Trump pressed the Ukrainian leader to dig up dirt on his political opponent represent a turning point.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D- Calif., has resisted launching official proceedings for months as a steady string of House Democrats pushed for committees to act. But after the administration refused to provide the whistleblower's complaint to Congress, she said about the Trump administration in a letter to House members that if the stonewalling continued, "they will be entering a grave new chapter of lawlessness which will take is into a whole new stage of investigation."

Another pivotal move was the decision by seven House freshmen Democrats with national security backgrounds to pen an editorial in the Washington Post saying the nation is at a new moment. "If these allegations are true, we believe these actions represent an impeachable offense," they wrote.

The speaker has previously said her marker for pursuing impeachment was that there had to be bipartisan and public support. Recent public opinion polls show a majority of Americans oppose impeachment proceedings, and even those who back it indicate it's unlikely to advance in the GOP-controlled Senate. Congressional Republicans remain united behind the president.

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In June, Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan became the only Republican to back launching an inquiry. On July 4, he declared his independence from the Republican Party but did not declare an affiliation with another party.

Pelosi has been continuously taking the pulse of her caucus — most notably those who won in competitive districts and gave her back the gavel as speaker in the 2018 midterms. Close Pelosi allies who have held back from calling for impeachment are now on the record calling for the House to act.

Pelosi is at the crossroads of weighing the political backlash for those vulnerable Democrats who could lose their seats in 2020 if the public remains opposed with pressure from progressives who insist Congress would be derelict if it doesn't act within its Constitutional power.

Of the lawmakers on record, some have stated outright that they support impeachment, while others specify that they support an impeachment inquiry. Both of those positions are noted as "for impeachment" in the graphics.

Editor's note: NPR's tracker lists lawmakers who have publicly announced definitive support for an impeachment inquiry. Those lawmakers who have said they would support impeachment with some qualification — e.g. if some allegations about the president are proven true — are not counted on the list of those backing impeachment.

NPR will continue to track where each member of the House of Representatives stands on impeachment proceedings. See something we missed? Email us at nprpolitics@npr.org.