Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is doubling down on her defiant decision to merely vote "present" to impeach President Trump ... because she firmly believes it was the right call for America.
The Congresswoman from Hawaii tells us she was making a stand by not voting yes or no ... in order to appeal to folks in the center. She says her goal is to bring unity to the country.
Gabbard elaborated though, saying she DOES want Trump out of office and, in her mind, there's a better step Congress can take to rebuke his conduct. As for getting him out of office ... she believes it should be done more conventionally ... by voting him out in 2020.
Keep in mind, Tulsi's still one of the Democratic candidates gunning for the nomination to run against Trump ... so she's taking a big gamble that her stand will pay off.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, VP Mike Pence's brother Greg also weighed in on the impeachment ... with some strong language his sib probably won't dig.
Greg -- who represents Indiana's 6th congressional district and obviously voted "no" to impeach -- tells us he's not even considering Trump being removed from office ... which subsequently would result in his brother becoming Prez.
It's pretty hard to believe, but Greg insists it's true -- the thought of him being in the First Family has NEVER crossed his mind. Hmm, must be a boring Thanksgiving dinner convo for the Pence fam.