Members of Congress representing the Ozarks region are defending President Donald Trump after House Democrats decided this week to launch an impeachment inquiry into the president's actions.
House Democrats, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, say Trump stepped out of bounds when he asked the president of Ukraine for a favor that involved investigating another US presidential candidate, Joe Biden.
Missouri is divided into eight Congressional districts.
Springfield falls in the seventh district, represented by Congressman Billy Long. Long’s office declined our request for an interview, but the Congressman issued this statement by email:
“As far as I am aware, there is no such thing as a “formal” impeachment without a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. Speaker Pelosi’s statement changes nothing and House Democrats will continue to do exactly what they have been doing since President Trump entered office,” Long said in the statement.
And Missouri’s Fourth District is represented by Republican Vicky Hartzler—her region includes areas to the north, east, and West of Greene County. Hartzler issued a statement by email Tuesday. It included the following:
“This is just another attempt for the Democratic Party to tear down President Trump ahead of the 2020 election,” Hartzler said in the emailed statement.
Hartzler added that Democrats should instead pursue an investigation of Biden for what she called “coercion” in his interaction with Ukraine while he was vice president.
KSMU also requested an interview with Missouri’s eighth district Congressman, Jason Smith—who represents south-central and southeast Missouri—but we were unable to connect by our deadline.