Democratic hopeful Tulsi Gabbard said in an interview on Tuesday that impeaching President Donald Trump would be “terribly divisive for our already very divided country.”
The Hawaiian congresswoman made the remarks on CNN before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that Democratic leaders are launching an “official impeachment inquiry” into the president.
“Look, my position remains the same. I think impeachment would be terribly divisive for our already very divided country,” Gabbard told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin.
“I think Congress needs to exercise oversight over the information that’s been leaked. I think it’s important this transcript is released to Congress so that Congress can do its job.”
Later Tuesday, Politico reported that Trump agreed to release to Congress the whistleblower complaint that is the backbone of the House Democrats call for impeachment proceedings.
The complaint — and impeachment proceedings — were triggered by a July phone call Trump made to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During the call, Trump allegedly asked Zelensky to investigate whether former Vice President and White House hopeful Joe Biden improperly pulled strings to help his son in the country — while holding promised US military aid over his head.
Gabbard is the sole 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to take a stance against impeaching Trump.