{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://riggleman.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-denver-riggleman-votes-against-impeachment", "Congressman Denver Riggleman Votes Against Impeachment", "2019-12-18", "2019", "2019-12", "Republican", "House", "VA", "Denver Riggleman", "R000611", "riggleman.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. -Congressman Denver Riggleman voted against the articles of impeachment against President Trump Wednesday evening. Prior to the vote, he gave an address on the floor of the House of Representatives stating his opposition to impeachment and the reasoning behind it.\n\"I voted no on both articles of impeachment,\" said Congressman Riggleman. \"I was not elected to take political votes that attempt to overturn the will of the American people. I ran for office to serve my constituents. Let's remember, that's why we are here.\"\nYou can watch Congressman Riggleman's addresshere, and a full transcriptof his remarks can be found below.\n  Thank you, Madam Speaker.  \n\tI oppose this impeachment effort and will vote no on the articles of impeachment.  \n\tI represent the Fifth District of Virginia, which is home to so many founding fathers whose vision shaped the great country we are living in today. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison are not around to see what their creation has become, but I don't think they would be pleased to see Congress subverting the will of democracy by holding an impeachment vote, because the majority party simply cannot accept the 2016 election. Instead of wasting the taxpayers' time and money on specious investigations, we could have passed legislation to address surprise medical billing, secure the border, address the opioid epidemic, reduce student debt, and solve a litany of other issues that Americans actually care about.  \n\tTomorrow, we might have a vote on the USMCA, which we should have passed months ago had it not been for the obstruction and delays from Democrats. Delays that have made farmers in my district and other districts suffer. Votes like the one we will take today. The decisions that have led up to today's vote. The nature an entire process of this proceeding wreaks of careerist bureaucrats and politicians that put politics over people. I was not elected to take political votes that attempt to overturn the will of the American people. I ran for office to serve my constituents. Let's remember, that's why we are here.  \n\tWeaponizing emotion is not the way to serve the United States of America, and to my colleagues who do just that, I offer a quote Thomas Paine wrote in a crisis, to argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.\nThank you, and I yield back the balance of my time.\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://riggleman.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-denver-riggleman-votes-against-impeachment"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.103416947647929, "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"}