Meet the House impeachment managers
A select group of House Democrats known as impeachment managers will act as prosecutors when former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial gets into full swing Tuesday afternoon.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has named nine Democrats to serve as impeachment managers, a role that calls on them to make the case against Trump during the trial. The House has charged him with inciting an insurrection at the Capitol that left five people dead.
The group of Democrats includes a number of top Pelosi allies. Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland, an expert in constitutional law, is serving as the lead manager. There are no restrictions on the number of impeachment managers the speaker can name to serve in the role. During the first impeachment trial against Trump, seven House Democrats served as managers.
The House impeachment managers will play a key role in how it unfolds as they each take a turn in the national spotlight.
They will have a chance to argue their case before the full Senate with the senators acting like jurors, and after that, the former President’s legal team will have an opportunity to present a defense.
Jamie Raskin, lead manager
Maryland’s 8th District
Serving in the House for a third term, since 2017
Committees: Oversight and Reform, Judiciary, Rules, House Administration, Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
Pelosi chose Raskin to lead the nine impeachment managers. Raskin was a professor of constitutional law at American University for more than 25 years before taking office in the House in 2017. He also served as assistant attorney general of Massachusetts from 1987-89.
In the hours before the January 6 attack on the Capitol, Raskin received a standing ovation from colleagues as he thanked them for their kindnesses since the recent death of his son, Tommy. Raskin’s daughter and son-in-law were with him when rioters breached the Capitol.
“Well, every prosecutor in this case on my team — and I have got an extraordinary team of prosecutors — anyone who ends up defending the President, every senator who is a juror in this case is also a witness to these events,” Raskin told CNN in a January 17 interview on State of the Union with Jake Tapper. “We were all witnesses.”
“… We’re putting together a trial plan which is designed to get the truth of all of these events out. Now, obviously, we’re not going to be able to tell everyone’s story, but we’re going to be able to tell the story of this attack on America and all of the events that led up to it.”
Joaquin Castro
Texas’ 20th District
Serving in the House for a fifth term, since 2013
Committees: Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, Education and Labor
Castro was a litigator in a private law practice before joining Congress in 2013. He chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus during the 116th Congress through 2020.
David Cicilline
Rhode Island’s 1st District
Serving in the House for a sixth term, since 2011
Committees: Judiciary, Foreign Affairs
Cicilline is a former public defender and former mayor of Providence. He chairs the antitrust subcommittee on the House Judiciary committee.
Madeleine Dean
Pennsylvania’s 4th District
Serving in the House for a second term, since 2019
Committees: Judiciary, Financial Services
Dean is a former executive director of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and later started a three-woman law firm outside of Philadelphia.
Diana DeGette
Colorado’s 1st District
Serving in the House for a 13th term, since 1997
Committees: Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources
Before her election to Congress, DeGette was an attorney in the Denver area. DeGette served in House leadership as a chief deputy whip for seven terms until 2019. She is the chair of the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce committee.
Ted Lieu
California’s 33rd District
Serving in the House for a fourth term, since 2015
Committees: Judiciary, Foreign Affairs
Lieu is a former active-duty officer in the US Air Force and a former prosecutor in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He still serves as a colonel in the US Air Force Reserves. Before his election to Congress, Lieu was also a judicial clerk for the US Court of Appeals. He is a co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.
Joe Neguse
Colorado’s 2nd District
Serving in the House for a second term, since 2019
Committees: Judiciary, Natural Resources, Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
Neguse is a former litigator in a private practice. The son of immigrants from Eritrea, Neguse is the first Eritrean-American member of Congress and the first African-American to represent Colorado in the House. He co-chairs the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.
Stacey Plaskett
Virgin Islands’ At-Large District
Serving in the House for a fourth term, since 2015
Committees: Ways and Means, Budget, Agriculture
Before her election to Congress, Plaskett served as assistant district attorney for the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and as senior counsel at the Department of Justice. She was also general counsel for the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority.
Eric Swalwell
California’s 15th District
Serving in the House for a fifth term, since 2013
Committees: Judiciary, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Homeland Security
Swalwell is a former prosecutor and former deputy district attorney for the Alameda County District Attorney in California. He is a co-chair of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.
