ICYMI: A second Kentucky-born congressman voted for impeachment

By BERRY CRAIG

AFT Local 1360

His vote didn't get much press in the Bluegrass State. But another Kentucky-born congressman supported impeaching President Trump.

“We are a nation of laws, and no single person is above the rule of law in America," said a statement from Rep. Joe Cunningham, a South Carolina Democrat and Caldwell County native who grew up next door in Lyon County. "Even the President needs to be held accountable if he violates the Constitution."

Cunningham, 37, is a son of Paula Cunningham and former state Supreme Court justice Bill Cunningham, both of Kuttawa, the congressman's hometown. He graduated from Lyon County High School in Eddyville, the county seat, and earned a law degree at Northern Kentucky University's Salmon P. Chase College of Law in Highland Heights.

Cunningham lives and practices in Charleston, the most populous part of his Lowcountry district that sprawls along the Atlantic seaboard.

"I did not come to Congress to impeach the President," the statement also said. "But after careful consideration of the evidence and testimony delivered to Congress by dedicated public servants, many of whom the President himself appointed, it is clear to me he committed an impeachable abuse of power."

A freshman lawmaker, Cunningham added, "The President used the power of his office to coerce a foreign government into investigating his political rival for personal gain. By refusing to cooperate with Congress and lawfully-issued subpoenas, the President clearly obstructed Congress. For these reasons, I support the Articles of Impeachment."

A moderate, Cunningham edged hard-right Republican Katie Arrington by 3,509 ballots in 2018, according to the Charleston Post and Courier. The paper said the election was “a rebuke for both President Donald Trump and Republicans who had held the seat since the Reagan era.”