U.S. Rep. Jason Crow has now joined the ranks of Colorado members of Congress who support launching an impeachment inquiry targeting President Donald Trump.

“After reading Robert Mueller’s report, hearing his testimony, and responding to President Trump’s repeated stonewalling of Congress, it’s clear that our democracy faces substantial risks that require congressional action,” Crow, D-Aurora, wrote in piece posted at Medium. 

He said Trump and his administration “have engaged in repeated abuses of power and disregarded our institutions, while flaunting Congress and the judiciary. To this day the President prevents key witnesses from testifying before Congress, wrongly asserts executive privilege to dodge subpoenas, and attempts to skirt court rulings.

“If Congress doesn’t stand up to these abuses, then our system of checks and balances will have failed,” he said. “It’s clear that we must respond with the full weight of Congress.”

Two other Colorado Democrats in Congress — U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse of Lafayette — have previously called for a Trump impeachment inquiry.

Both DeGette and Neguse on July 17 were among 95 members of Congress who voted against blocking a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump. The move to block the impeachment resolution passed 322-95.

Crow and fellow Democrat Ed Perlmutter of Arvada, along with all of Colorado’s Republicans in the House, voted with the majority to shelve the impeachment measure.

Presidential candidate John Hickenlooper of Colorado also has called for an impeachment probe of Trump.

Crow said impeachment of the president “must be the last course of action, not the first. We must be deliberate about the inquiry process and give the American people full confidence in the process and the ultimate decision.”

In a statement quoted by the Aurora Sentinel, the Colorado Republican Party blasted Crow for “joining the impeachment bandwagon despite opposition from a clear majority of Americans, … pursuing baseless conspiracy theories with his socialist colleagues.”

An impeachment inquiry would begin with a referral of a resolution of impeachment to the House Judiciary Committee, of which Neguse is a member. The committee would then decide whether to investigate allegations that might eventually become articles of impeachment to be voted on by the full House.

The Democrat-led House could impeach Trump by majority vote. He would then face an impeachment trial in the Republican-led Senate, where a two-third vote would be required to remove him from office. Vice President Mike Pence would then be sworn in as president.

Some Democrats have called on colleagues who oppose Trump to let the 2020 election  decide whether the president is removed from office, noting that the Senate is almost certain to vote against such a move. They caution that a push for impeachment would play into Trump’s hands politically by firing up his supporters.

Crow’s statement comes as the House has begun a six-week mid-summer recess with no signs of an impeachment vote soon, although House Democrats have been investigating the Trump administration on various fronts. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, has tried to steer the chamber away from an impeachment inquiry.

An analysis by The Associated Press indicates that 114 Democrats and one independent in the House so far have publicly expressed support for a Trump impeachment inquiry, versus 121 Democrats who so far have not, along with all House Republicans.

It would take a 218-vote majority to pass a measure launching an impeachment probe.

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