FILE -- Rep. John Curtis speaks to reporters at KSL Broadcast house. (Photo: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News File)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — U.S. Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, is calling the impeachment process “exhausting” ahead of today’s vote in the House of Representatives.
The Republican who serves Utah’s third congressional district says this isn’t a win for either Republicans or Democrats.
“Nobody should claim victory here,” he told KSL NewsRadio’s Dave & Dujanovic Show. “[It’s] not a proud moment for Republicans or Democrats.”
Curtis still plans to vote against impeachment and all the votes are expected to largely fall along party-lines in the Democrat-controlled house.
With all the partisan politics, he thinks the impeachment process has a foregone conclusion.
“It feels a little anti-climatic,” says Curtis.
If the House votes for impeachment it would set the stage for a trial in the U.S. Senate, which would take place next month.
That’s a notion that doesn’t excite Curtis; he doesn’t feel anyone would look forward to such an event.
“People are, I think, unanimously looking forward to this just being behind us,” he added.
He adds his decision to vote against impeachment isn’t a personal statement about how he views the president.
Rather, he says it’s much more technical.
“It’s just simply a vote on two articles of impeachment that are extremely narrow,” said Curtis. “[They] don’t take into account most of the behavior that bothers some Utahns.”
All three of Utah’s Republican congressional representatives plan to vote against impeachment, while the lone Utah Democrat, Rep. Ben McAdams, announced earlier this week he plans to vote in favor of impeachment.
At a press conference, McAdams said, “The evidence for me is clear: the president abused the power of his office by demanding a foreign government perform a personal favor.”