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HARRISBURG -- Three local legistlators have joined State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe sponsoring a resolution calling for the impeachment of Gov. Tom Wolf.
Metcalfe, a Butler County Republican, introduced the resolution Tuesday.
The resolution has 24 co-sponsors, including State Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R-76); State Rep. Garth Everett (R-84), and State Rep. Cris Dush (R-66), who is seeking the 25th District Senate seat of Joe Scarnati, who is retiring.
Republican lawmakers, who control the General Assembly, have clashed with the Democratic governor's management during the coronavirus crisis. GOP lawmakers have argued Wolf's actions have crippled the state's economy and they say he has regularly exceeded his authority.
"While these are certainly unprecedented and chaotic times, Gov. Tom Wolf must be held accountable for his actions that have harmed so many of our citizens and violated so many of our rights," Metcalfe said in a statement released Tuesday. "Wolf's unconstitutional dictates and Orwellian overreach into our lives and the marketplace has caused immeasurable harm and hardship for far more Pennsylvanians than the virus!"
The resolution's title: "A Resolution impeaching Thomas W. Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania, for misbehavior in office."
Metcalfe began circulating a memo in May to draw support for impeaching Wolf.
Other state lawmakers signing on as sponsors of the resolution include Reps. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon; Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin; Dawn W. Keefer, R-York; Mark K. Keller, R-Cumberland/Perry; Dan Moul, R-Adams; Francis Ryan, R-Lebanon; and David H. Zimmerman, R-Lancaster.
Bill Patton, a House Democratic spokesman, defended Wolf's leadership in the crisis.
"The governor's doing the job he was elected to do and the last thing the state needs right now is a circus sideshow," Patton said. "House Democrats will give this political stunt no more attention that it deserves."
A request for comment from the governor's office wasn't immediately returned Tuesday afternoon.
Polls have shown strong support for Wolf's leadership during the pandemic, even as he has imposed measures such as shutting down businesses and schools to stem the spread of the virus.
Statewide, nearly 80,000 people have contracted the coronavirus and more than 6,200 deaths have been tied to COVID-19, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. More than two-thirds of those deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes. The number of new cases has dropped in recent weeks, which Wolf has attributed to people to practicing social distancing and taking the virus seriously.
Nonetheless, Metcalfe said the deaths in nursing homes and the loss of more than 2 million jobs under Wolf's administration are indefensible. His resolution includes five articles calling for Wolf's removal from office.
Last week, the GOP-controlled General Assembly passed a resolution that directs Wolf to issue a proclamation or executive order to end the coronavirus disaster emergency. Wolf has vowed to veto the measure, but Republican lawmakers argue he lacks the authority to do so. The battle is expected to be decided in the courts.
The measure comes as Wolf has gradually eased coronavirus restrictions in recent weeks. Currently, there are 46 counties in the green phase, the lease restrictive in the Wolf administration's plans to reopen the state.
On Friday, Dauphin County and seven other counties move into the green phase.
In Pennsylvania, the last person to be impeached was Supreme Court Justice Rolf Larsen, who was convicted of conspiring to obtain drugs via fraudulent prescriptions. That was in 1994, with the next most recent attempt at impeachment dating back to the 1930s.