Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, says President Donald Trump was wrong to seek assistance from Ukraine and China in investigating Joe Biden, reports The Columbus Dispatch.
"The president should not have raised the Biden issue on that call, period," Portman said after attending the 4th Annual Ohio Defense Forum hosted by The Dayton Development Coalition. "It's not appropriate for a president to engage a foreign government in an investigation of a political opponent."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., last week launched a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump following the release of whistleblower complaint that detailed a summer phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, where Trump pressured Zelenskiy to investigate Democratic presidential frontrunner Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
In the days before the call, Trump ordered advisers to freeze $400 million in military aid for Ukraine — prompting speculation he was holding out the money as leverage for information on the Bidens. Trump has denied a quid pro quo.
The impeachment probe focuses partly on whether Trump abused his presidential powers and sought help from a foreign government to undermine Biden and help his own re-election effort. Pelosi said Tuesday such actions would mark a "betrayal of his oath of office" and declared, "No one is above the law."
Portman says he does not see Trump's actions as an "impeachable offense."
"I think the House frankly rushed to impeachment assuming certain things" that have not panned out yet, he added.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.