HOUSTON – U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, of Houston, is among the team of seven House members who will serve as prosecutors during the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named the “managers” of the Senate trial Wednesday ahead of a vote to send the articles of impeachment to the other side of the Capitol.
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In a tweet, Garcia said she is honored to be on the impeachment team and takes her responsibility seriously.
Honored to be one of seven House Impeachment Managers who’ll be making the case to the American people.
— Rep. Sylvia Garcia (@RepSylviaGarcia) January 15, 2020
For me this is about upholding my oath of office.
I take my responsibility seriously because we’re working to defend our Constitution at a pivotal moment in our democracy.
Garcia, a Democrat, is relatively new to Congress. She won the Texas House District 29 seat in 2018 and was sworn in on Jan. 3, 2018. She has been appointed to subcommittees of both the Judiciary Committee and the Financial Services Committee.
Before Congress, Garcia served as a state senator for six years.
Garcia has a long political history in Houston and Harris County that dates back to the 1980s, when she was named as the presiding judge of the Houston Municipal Court system by former Houston Mayor Kathryn Whitmire. She became Houston’s controller in 1998.
She was elected to the Harris County Commissioner’s Court in 2002. She lost her reelection bid in 2010.
Garcia is a native of Palito Blanco in South Texas. She’s also a graduate of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.
“For Congresswoman Garcia, this was a surprise pick by Nancy Pelosi, given that she’s a first-term member and doesn’t have the legal background like some of the other members have. She is a lawyer. She did serve as a municipal judge but that’s in Houston, effectively dealing with parking tickets,” said Mark Jones, a Rice University Political Science Professor.
What is an impeachment manager?
As an impeachment manager, Garcia will take on the role of prosecutor, presenting the House’s cases against President Trump to the senate and Chief Justice John Roberts. The impeachment managers will each take on different responsibilities. Jones expects Garcia to play a key role in these proceedings.
“I would expect Congresswoman Garcia to get something related to Ukraine because that’s an area where she’s been very vocal both on television as well as in Congress,” Jones said.
What does this mean for Garcia?
Jones said this is a high-profile assignment for Garcia that will no doubt cement her place in American history as being part of the team that prosecuted a U.S. president.
“If she’s ineffective or inarticulate in her prosecution, that could come back to haunt her,” Jones said.