Vulnerable New York Democrat Max Rose comes out in support of impeachment

Rep. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) announced Friday that he will vote in favor of the articles of impeachment brought against President Trump.

Rose is a freshman Democrat from a swing district comprised of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn that Trump carried in the 2016 election by 10 points and was undecided on his position in recent days after the House brought forward the two articles of impeachment.

“A President coercing a foreign government into targeting American citizens is not just another example of scorched earth politics, it serves as an invitation to the enemies of the United States to come after any citizen, so long as they disagree with the President. Embarking on an unprecedented effort to obstruct this inquiry doesn’t make the facts any less true,” Rose said in a statement announcing his position. “Therefore I will vote in support of the two Articles of Impeachment.”

Rose was one of the few remaining House Democrats who had not publicly announced their support for the impeachment articles against Trump.

“Party and politics will never come before the country I bled to protect—and would unquestionably do so again,” Rose, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, said in his statement.

The House is set to vote on two articles of impeachment, alleging Trump abused the power of his office and that he obstructed Congress in its impeachment inquiry. 

The articles were the result of weeks of investigation by lawmakers into whether Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine in exchange for an announcement of politically favorable investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden.

Earlier this week, Rose said he was undecided as he continued reviewing the articles of impeachment.

“This is about upholding my oath to the Constitution, and the last thing I will do is allow politics or artificial timelines to influence this grave decision,” he told silive.com.

Rose will face a tough reelection battle in 2020, having already received a pro-impeachment Democratic primary challenger in Richard-Olivier Marius and a likely GOP opponent in State Rep. Nicole Malliotakis.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Rose’s reelection race a toss-up.