Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Says She Now Supports Impeachment Inquiry

In a major flip, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard  (D-Hawaii) announced Friday that she now supports an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump over his interactions with Ukraine.

“It is unfortunate, but necessary, that I speak in support of the inquiry into the president’s alleged abuse of power in relation to his interactions with Ukraine’s leaders,” the 2020 presidential candidate said in a statement.

Until now, Gabbard’s opposition to impeachment has made her an outlier among candidates for the Democratic nomination. On Wednesday, she said she didn’t see a “compelling” case for the move based on a summary of Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom Trump pressured to open an investigation into  former Vice President Joe Biden , another Democratic presidential hopeful. 

Gabbard’s reversal came after the White House released additional documents about that call, including a copy of the whistleblower complaint that set the whole ordeal in motion.

Now, she says, “I believe if we do not proceed with the inquiry, it will set a very dangerous precedent.”

With Gabbard’s flip, there are now fewer than a dozen House Democrats opposed to the formal impeachment probe House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced earlier this week.