IMPEACHMENT: House Chairman of Armed Services Rep. Adam Smith [D-WA] backs inquiry

Add another prominent lawmaker to the list of names calling for the start of impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump: House Chairman of Armed Services Adam Smith, a Democrat from the state of Washington.

72 US House Representatives now support an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.

Rep. Adam Smith is the 71st Democrat to support an impeachment inquiry.

He is the second impeachment backer in the House from Washington state.

From armedservices.house.gov:

Now in his 12th term, Smith serves as the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, where he is a strong advocate for our military personnel and their families. Smith is also committed to providing our military personnel with the best equipment available to carry out their current and future missions while ensuring that the Pentagon spends taxpayer dollars in the most efficient and effective manner. This includes carefully examining our current policies and working to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse.

Above: Here's the latest 'Impeachment Tracker' chart from NPR.

From NPR:

This week, both California Democratic Rep. Katie Porter and Illinois Democratic Rep. Sean Casten publicly backed an impeachment investigation. Porter and Casten are two of just three House Democrats who represent competitive districts and are publicly backing impeachment of President Trump.

Rep. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey is the other so-called "Frontline" Democrat who says the House should launch an inquiry. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee designated 44 legislators whose districts are seen as key to holding on to the House in 2020.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who has the most influential voice in the decision on whether to move forward, has repeatedly stated that she plans to focus on current congressional committee investigations into Trump before talking about an impeachment inquiry.

Currently, more than 70 Democrats and one Republican in the House of Representatives support beginning an impeachment inquiry into Trump for potential obstruction of justice. Some have stated outright that they support impeachment, others specify that they support an impeachment inquiry. Both of those positions are noted as "for impeachment" in the graphics.

Out of those dozens of Democrats, almost all share two important qualities: Their seats are safe in 2020, and they are not members of the House Democratic leadership team.

Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan is the only Republican to back launching an inquiry, and he has received criticism from constituents and the GOP for his decision.

Who In The House Is Calling For Impeachment?

[via @ElenaMMoore]