{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://demings.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-demings-votes-articles-impeachment", "Rep. Demings Votes for Articles of Impeachment", "2019-12-13", "2019", "2019-12", "Democrat", "House", "FL", "Val Demings", "D000627", "demings.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  Today, U.S. Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, voted for two Articles of Impeachment for President Donald Trump.\nShort Summaries:\nArticle I: Abuse Of Power\nPresident Trump solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 United States Presidential election.\nIn so doing, President Trump used the powers of the Presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the United States and undermined the integrity of the United States democratic process.\nPresident Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law\nArticle II: Obstruction Of Congress\nThe House of Representatives has engaged in an impeachment inquiry focused on President Trump's corrupt solicitation of the Government of Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 United States Presidential election.\nIn the history of the Republic, no President has ever ordered the complete defiance of an impeachment inquiry or sought to obstruct and impede so comprehensively the ability of the House of Representatives to investigate high Crimes and Misdemeanors. This abuse of office served to cover up the President's own repeated misconduct and to seize and control the power of impeachment  and thus to nullify a vital constitutional safeguard.\nBoth articles passed the House Judiciary Committee. They will be considered by the House of Representatives.\nRep. Demings gave multiple remarks during the debate, including an opening statement, remarks throughout, and as the final speaker of the debate.\nHere is Rep. Demings' Opening Statement, delivered Wednesday evening:\nThis is a defining moment in our history and a challenging time for the nation.\nBut America has been through tough times before. And I am sure that we will go through tough times again.\nSo, I do not fear this moment, or this time.\nI grew up in Florida. I am the youngest of seven children. My mother cleaned houses for a living and my father was a janitor. But he also mowed lawns and picked oranges.\nI remember my dad used to go to work seven days a week to make ends meet for our family.\nI grew up poor, but my parents were good, decent, honest people who taught me to be decent and respectful.\nThey taught me to work hard, and play by the rules, and treat others the way that I want to be treated.\nYou see, I was the first in my family to go to college, and after graduation I joined the Orlando Police Department, and started out as a patrol officer working the midnight shift.\nBut the story does not end there.\nI had the awesome opportunity of working my way up through the ranks to become Orlando's first woman chief of police, and now I am privileged to serve in Congress.\nBut hear me clearly:I believe that only in America can a little Black girl, the daughter of a maid and a janitor, growing up in the south in the 60s, have such an amazing opportunity.\nSo, regardless of the spirited, sometimes painful political debates, no one can make me give up on America.\nYou see, I believe in the promise of Americabecause I have seen the promise of America.\nI come before you tonight as an American Dreamrealized.\nBecause America is great and decent, and our democracy complete, because we live in a government of the people.\nI've taken four oaths in my lifetime, two as a law enforcement officer and two now as a Member of Congress.\nDifferent oaths, different times and different places, but each oath stated that I will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.\nMy oath was not to an individual, it wasn't to a political party or institution. My oath was to the United States Constitution.\nAnd I come before you tonight as an African American female.\nI come before you tonight as a descendent of slaves. Slaves who knew they would not make it, but dreamed and prayed that one day, that I would make it.\nI come before you tonight proclaiming that in spite of America's complicated history, my faith is in the Constitution. And I say that today with perfect peace.\nI've enforced the laws and now I write the laws, and I know that nobody is above the law. But the law means nothing if the accused, whether the man who breaks into your house or the president, can destroy evidence, stop witnesses from testifying and blatantly refuse to cooperate in the investigation.\nI ask you to name somebody in your family or in your community who can do that.\nThe president is the commander-in-chief, and his responsibility is great.\nHowever, our president put his personal interests above the interests of the nationcorrupting and cheating our democracyand he shall be held accountable.\nThe framers were so concerned about a president abusing his power that they gave us the power of impeachment.\nGeorge Washington was particularly concerned about unprincipled men' finding their way into the White House.\nWell, those times have found us. And we only have one option, and that's to hold this president accountable.\nBecause you know what? Nobody is above the law.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://demings.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-demings-votes-articles-impeachment"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.516442047432065, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}