WASHINGTON – Sen. Kamala Harris joined the ranks of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates advocating for the impeachment of President Donald Trump before they get the chance to unseat him at the ballot box. 

The California Democrat said she supports impeachment proceedings during a CNN town hall event on Monday. 

“I believe that we need to get rid of this president. That’s why I’m running to become president of the United States,” Harris said in response to an audience member who asked if she thought special counsel Robert Mueller’s report was damning enough to warrant Trump’s impeachment. 

But while she would be happy to defeat him at the ballot box, Harris said the evidence from the report “tells us that this president and his administration engaged in obstruction of justice.” 

“I believe Congress should take the steps towards impeachment.” 
 
Harris cautioned that the process “doesn’t end there,” however. She said the Democratic majority in the House would likely be able to impeach Trump, but she did not think that enough Republicans would join Democrats to secure the two-thirds majority needed in the Senate that would remove Trump from office. 

“I’ve not seen any evidence to suggest that they will weigh on the facts instead of on partisan adherence to being protective of this president,” Harris said. “So we have to be realistic about what might be the end result, but that doesn’t mean the process should not take hold.” 

2020 candidates list: Who is running for president? An interactive guide

‘Time is short’: Why experts warn Russian meddling detailed in Mueller report could happen again

Other 2020 Democrats who have called for impeachment proceedings against Trump include Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Miramar, Florida, Mayor Wayne Messam. 

Warren called for impeachment in a tweet last week after the release of the redacted Mueller report. 

Like what you’re reading?: Download the USA TODAY app for more

“The severity of this misconduct demands that elected officials in both parties set aside political considerations and do their constitutional duty. That means the House should initiate impeachment proceedings against the President of the United States,” she said. 

Warren repeated that call Monday during a CNN town hall.  

“If any other human being in this country had done what’s documented in the Mueller report, they would be arrested and put in jail,” she said. 

During his own CNN town hall on Monday. Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders called for Congress to “do a hard investigation” to “get to the truth” and determine whether or not Trump obstructed justice. 

But Sanders cautioned that if Congress focused on impeachment and not about “issues that concern ordinary Americans” then he fears “that works to Trump’s advantage.”

Further investigations: After Mueller report, House panel subpoenas ex-Trump White House Counsel Don McGahn

GOP Sen. Mitt Romney: ‘I am sickened’ over Trump’s conduct revealed in Mueller report

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar also called for further hearings on Mueller’s findings in the House and Senate during a town hall on Monday. She said Mueller’s report included “very disturbing things that would lead you to believe there’s obstruction of justice” but “impeachment proceedings are up to the House.” 

She said that if the House votes to impeach Trump, as a member of the Senate she would become a juror, “so I am not going to predispose things.” 

During his CNN town hall, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg said it is “pretty clear that he deserves impeachment,” when asked if would support moving forward with proceedings against Trump. But he said he is “going to leave it to the House and Senate to figure that out.” 

“My role in the process is trying to relegate Trumpism to the dust bin of history” via the ballot box, Buttigieg said. 

On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., left the door open to impeachment saying, “if that’s the place the facts take us, that’s the place we have to go.”

Mueller fallout: Democrats ‘may’ pursue impeachment against Donald Trump as Giuliani defends president

Impeachment debate: Mueller report revives impeachment talk, even as Democratic leaders try to tamp it down

More: Attorney General William Barr faces a political firestorm after release of the Mueller report