U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) today reacted to continued movement in the U.S. House of Representatives to open an impeachment inquiry into the corruption of Donald Trump.

“The House membership did not want to arrive at this moment. Our bar was high. But Donald Trump’s decision to extort a stalwart ally to smear an American political leader and meddle in our elections is banana republicanism. If we allow it to stand unanswered, then we will render the Article I branch and our entire constitutional order null and void.

“Doing the right thing is not someone else’s job: it is our job. There can be no question that Trump’s crimes and obstruction of justice have not abated but accelerated because of failure to constrain him. In this context polling and electoral considerations mean nothing. And if, upon overwhelming evidence the House of Representatives ratifies articles of impeachment of Donald Trump and the Senate rejects that evidence, that dereliction will be their burden to bear, not ours. The coming months will be a major challenge for all of us. We’re all in this democratic endeavor together.”

Rep. Pascrell first called for an impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump on May 29. Since February 2017, Pascrell has been the foremost leader in Congress calling for disclosure of Trump’s business and personal tax returns. Throughout the 116th Congress, Pascrell has been one of the most persistent national critics of Trump. He has called Trump’s attacks as “fascism in the flesh,” blasted Trump’s assaults on democracy, and has called for the impeachment of Attorney General William Barr for undermining the rule of law.