House GOPer: Impeachment Could Keep Party From Winning Senate

FILE- This June 4, 2013, file photo shows Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas, asking questions during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. As 2014 midterm elections near Marchant said Rep... FILE- This June 4, 2013, file photo shows Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas, asking questions during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. As 2014 midterm elections near Marchant said Republicans could risk eroding support if “we make drastic changes in our underlying policies” that led to their House majority. Immigration is the most pivotal issue in his west Dallas district, he said. While it’s easy for some non-southern Republicans to endorse comprehensive immigration reform, he said, “almost anything you put out has a second- or third-related cousin, and its name is amnesty.” (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) MORE LESS
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Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-TX) last week said that while moving to impeach President Obama would likely be unsuccessful and could hurt the Republican party, it’s still something the House should consider.

“I do believe that if the president had impeachment proceedings run against him in the House, that I think there’s a very slim chance that the House would vote to impeach,” Marchant said last week during a town hall, according to a video obtained by Buzzfeed. “That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done, and that doesn’t mean that shouldn’t be something that we consider.”

The congressman told his constituents that an Obama decision to grant “amnesty to a large population of illegals in the country” would likely be the “defining moment” that pushes the House toward impeachment.

But he also warned that impeachment could backfire on the GOP. He mentioned that Democrats have been using impeachment buzz to fundraise.

“They’re using it as a scare tactic to try to keep us from taking over the Senate,” he said.

Marchant added that most Americans don’t support impeaching the president.

“If we move against the will of the people, there will be a violent reaction, and I do not think we will win the Senate,” he said. “So let’s focus on winning the Senate first.”

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