How many sponsors are there on the House Articles of Impeachment
Executive summary
The simplest, supportable answer is: the count of House members listed as sponsors/co‑sponsors on Rep. Robin Kelly’s articles of impeachment has changed as the drive progressed — early media reports and Kelly’s office showed roughly 50–70 co‑sponsors, and Kelly’s own later tally reports 162 co‑sponsors (Kelly’s office reported 70 in one release and 162 in a subsequent release) [1] [2] [3].
1. The plain number: what the sources say now
By the most recent public statement in the reporting set, Rep. Kelly’s office lists 162 members of Congress as cosponsors of the impeachment articles she filed against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and that figure is presented as representing “over three‑quarters of House Democrats” in Kelly’s release [3]; earlier official material from Kelly’s and allied members’ offices listed 70 cosponsors when the articles were first posted or announced [2] [4].
2. The timeline behind conflicting totals
Initial coverage and an early list obtained by Axios showed roughly 50–53 Democrats had signed onto the articles by a mid‑January deadline [1], The Hill and other outlets reported the support as “almost 70” shortly after the introduction [5], several House offices published a 70‑member cosponsor list when the resolution was formally introduced [2] [4], and later press material from Rep. Kelly's office and other reporting described the number of cosponsors climbing to the 150–162 range [6] [3].
3. Why the count moves: timing, paperwork and publicity
The variance in reported totals reflects the normal mechanics and politics of congressional co‑sponsorship drives: members can sign on after initial introduction, offices update lists at different cadences, and media outlets capture snapshots at different times — Axios’ 53 figure was a real‑time snapshot of early sign‑ons [1], while Kelly’s subsequent office statements consolidated later commitments into a larger total [2] [3].
4. Political framing and motivations behind the headline numbers
Numbers matter politically: a 50–70 co‑sponsor showing signals a significant but minority push within the Democratic conference and was emphasized in early coverage [1] [5], whereas Kelly’s later framing of 162 cosponsors casts the effort as a dominant caucus initiative and pushes the narrative that a large majority of Democrats back impeachment [3] [6]; each office and outlet has incentives to highlight the figure that best serves its audience or political signal, and that can amplify perceived momentum or marginalize dissenting reality.
5. What the count actually means for impeachment prospects
Even with 162 Democratic cosponsors, the procedural reality remains that the House must vote to adopt articles and a Republican‑controlled chamber makes passage unlikely unless cross‑party votes appear [6] [5], and congressional practice shows co‑sponsorship numbers are a measure of support but not equivalent to final passage — committees, floor rules and party leadership all affect whether articles reach a vote [7] [8].
6. Reporting limits and caution about a single “correct” figure
The sources in hand document evolving tallies — 53, about 70, 70 in initial office lists, and later 150–162 reported by Kelly’s team [1] [5] [2] [3] [6] — and no independent, single authoritative, time‑stamped roster from a neutral House administrative database is provided in these materials, so the most defensible conclusion is that the co‑sponsor count grew over time and the latest figure reported here from Kelly’s office is 162 cosponsors [3], while acknowledging earlier contemporaneous reports captured smaller totals as the effort expanded [1] [5].