-Thank you, Madam Speaker.
I thank the gentleman for yielding,
for his tremendous leadership in helping us
honor the Constitution of the United States.
I also extend my gratitude to Chairman Schiff,
who will be presiding later in the day.
My colleagues, this morning and every morning
when we come together,
members rise and pledge allegiance to the flag.
Every day, all across America, children in school,
members of the military, officials,
and those civically engaged also pledge allegiance to the flag.
Let us recall what that pledge says.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
and to the Republic and to the republic --
to the republic --
for which it stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
The Republic for which it stands
is what we are here to talk about today.
A Republic, if we can keep it.
We gather today under the dome of this temple of democracy
to exercise one of the most solemn powers
that this body can take,
the impeachment of the President of the United States.
No member, regardless of party or politics,
comes to Congress to impeach a president,
but every one of us,
as our first act as a member of Congress,
stood on this historic House floor,
before our beautiful American flag,
and raised our hands in this sacred oath.
I do solemnly swear that I will support
and defend the Constitution of the United States
against all enemies, foreign and domestic, so help me, God.
For 230 years, members have taken that sacred oath,
which makes us custodians of the Constitution.
When our founders declared independence
and established a new nation,
they crafted a system of government
unlike one ever seen before,
a Republic starting with the sacred words "we the people."
For centuries, Americans have fought and died
to defend democracy for the people,
but, very sadly now,
our founders' vision of a republic
is under threat from actions from The White House.
That is why today, as Speaker of the House,
I solemnly and sadly opened the debate
on the impeachment of the President of the United States.
If we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duty.
It is tragic that the president's reckless
actions make impeachment necessary.
He gave us no choice.
What we are discussing today is the established fact
that the president violated the Constitution.
It is a matter of fact that the president
is an ongoing threat to our national security
and the integrity of our elections,
the basis of our democracy.
Hundreds of historians, legal scholars,
and formal prosecutors, regardless of party,
have stated that the president committed impeachable offenses.
Since today is a national civics lesson, though a sad one,
I submit these documents for the record
and commend them for students to study.
-Add objection. So order.
-Thank you, Madam Speaker.
What we are discussing today is the established fact
that the president, again, violated the Constitution.
It is a matter of fact that the president is,
again, an ongoing threat to our national security.
And the testimony of decorated war heroes,
distinguished diplomats,
and patriotic career public servants,
some of the president's own appointees,
over the past weeks, have told us this.
The president used the power of his public office
to obtain an improper personal political benefit
at the expense of America's national security.
When a president weakens a democratic ally
that is advancing American security interests
by fighting an American adversary,
the president weakens America.
This abuse of power
also jeopardizes the integrity of our elections.
All Americans agree that American voters
should choose our president, not some foreign government.
The founders understood that it is profoundly corrosive
for our democracy
for a president to invite interference in our elections.
As George Washington, our nation's patriarch,
under whose gaze we stand today,
warned, "History and experience prove that foreign influence
is one of the most painful foes of republican government."
George Washington.
Sadly, the American people have witnessed
further wrongs of the president,
which necessitate the second article of impeachment --
Obstruction of Congress.
When the president's wrongdoing was revealed,
he launched an unprecedented, indiscriminate,
and categorical campaign of defiance and obstruction.
Never before in the history of our nation
have we seen a president declare and act if he is above the law.
The president goes even so far as to say
and act on this absurdity when he says,
"Article II says I can do whatever I want."
No, it doesn't.
That recklessness is a profound violation
of the Constitution and our Republic,
which endure because of our system of separation of power,
three co-equal branches, each a check and balance on the other.
A Republic, again, if we can keep it.
The founders' great fear of a rogue or corrupt president
is the very reason why they enshrined
impeachment in the Constitution.
As one founder, William Davy of North Carolina warned,
"Unless the Constitution contained
an impeachment provision,
a president might spare no efforts
or means whatever to get himself re-elected."
Another founder, George Mason,
insisted that the president who procured his appointment
in the first instance through improper and corrupt acts
might repeat his guilt and return to power.
We in Congress, Article I, the legislative branch,
must stand up and make clear to the American people
and to all people, that this body still stands
by the principles enshrined in the Constitution
and defended by generations of Americans.
Last week, in observance of the 75th anniversary
of the Battle of the Bulge,
members traveled to that hallowed ground
to express our gratitude to the heroes of freedom,
who sacrificed everything to secure victory
of freedom over tyranny --
not just for America, but for the world.
The veterans of that battle, who were there in their 90s,
told us how, after the war was won,
the Europeans, whom they liberated would ask,
"Why did you risk us -- you don't know us --
and give your lives to save us?
We're not Americans."
And our men would say, "We came here to fight for you
not because you are Americans, because we are Americans."
As our beloved chairman Elijah Cummings
and oversight committee chair, our North Star said,
when announcing his support for this action,
"When the history books are written about
this tumultuous error, I want them to show
that I was among those in the House of Representatives
who stood up to lawlessness and tyranny."
He also said, almost prophetically,
"When we are dancing with the angels, the question will be,
what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact?"
Elijah, as you know, has since passed on.
Now he is dancing with the angels,
and I know that he and all of us here
are very proud of the moral courage of members
who want to honor the vision of our founders for a republic,
the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform to defend it,
and the aspirations of our children
to live freely within it.
Today, we are here to defend democracy for the people.
May God bless America.
I yield back the balance of my time.
-Yields back.