Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced a formal inquiry of impeachment on President Donald Trump on Sept. 24.
“The actions of the Trump presidency revealed the dishonorable fact of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections,” Pelosi said in her speech. “Therefore, today I am announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry.”
Mackenzie Guy, a junior political science major, says she agrees with the inquiry. “He’s clearly done illegal things, even before he was in office,” said Guy. “It wouldn’t surprise me if he continued to do illegal things. If he has broken the law, he needs to be impeached.”
Bryan Lay, a junior political science major, believes that there is no evidence for grounds of impeachment. He explained that the Democrats must prove that Trump has done something worthy of the charge. “If they can prove that what he did was with the intention of digging up dirt on Joe Biden for the election, then yes,” he said. “But from my own readings, there is no evidence.”
When questioned on the possible outcome of the inquiry, Lay said, “Though we have had presidents impeached, there is no way to predict what will happen. The Republicans would be up in arms about it.”
Marcos Nuchurch, also a junior political science major, sided with Pelosi. “If the charges turn out to be true, then I agree because that would mean he has committed multiple impeachable offenses,” he said. “If he hasn’t, then no. He shouldn’t be impeached. Whether or not I like him doesn’t change that fact.”
Nuchurch also said that he isn’t sure about the state of the government if the impeachment proceeds. “The functionality of the government will definitely be a disaster,” he said. “I don’t know how long it would take, if ever, to get [the government] back up and running again as it should.”
Dalton Shell, a member of the Student Government Association and also a political science major, believes President Trump should not be impeached. “What I have seen during this whole debacle is nothing but partisan politics,” said Shell. “We are such a polarized nation, and this whole process only hurts our political process and institutions even more.”
Shell also thinks that Pelosi agreed to impeachment hearings to keep her job. “That is the truth that no one will tell you,” he said. “I think that he has done a good job of keeping to his campaign promises, a refreshing idea in today’s world.”
Headline photo: President Trump speaking at an event. (Credit to Vox.com)