Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox calls for impeachment of Maryland Gov. Hogan

A Republican Maryland lawmaker who is running for governor took a step Thursday in an attempt to impeach Gov. Larry Hogan, a fellow Republican.

Del. Dan Cox, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump in his own run for governor in 2022, introduced a resolution in the House of Delegates that calls for an impeachment of the governor.

Cox, who represents portions of Carroll and Frederick counties, did not respond to repeated requests for comment on Thursday and was not present for the introduction of the resolution, as the House was operating in a limited-attendance session under coronavirus protocols.

Cox’s resolution calls for the impeachment for alleged “malfeasance in office, misuse of the police power, violations of the separation of powers, theft of the people’s liberty and property, deprivation of the religious liberties of the people, and abuse of power under false pretenses.”

Hogan spokesman Mike Ricci offered a written response to Cox’s resolution: “This guy is known to be a QAnon conspiracy theorist. He has this weird obsession with the governor. Surprised that it took this long, frankly.”

The Republican governor, who is finishing his second and final term in office, enjoys wide support across the political spectrum, with recent polling putting his approval rating at 74%.

Cox’s impeachment attempt, even with unlikely odds of success, lays bare conflicts within the Republican Party over support for the twice-impeached ex-president.

Cox is part of the wing of the party that has offered full-throated support for Trump, while Hogan has clearly steered away from the ex-president, voting in 2020 for the late President Ronald Reagan and in 2016 for his father.

On social media, Cox has used the #stopthesteal hashtag favored by pro-Trump conspiracy theorists who believe the 2020 election was invalid.

Cox says on his campaign website that he was “a Philadelphia team member of lawyers for Trump Presidential campaign for three weeks during the 2020 election fighting for every legal vote to count.”

Cox also helped organize a bus to bring people to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, the day the election was certified and a mob of pro-Trump loyalists overran the U.S. Capitol building.

That afternoon, Cox criticized then-Vice President Mike Pence, apparently for not trying to halt the tally of Electoral College votes. At 3:21 p.m., more than an hour after rioters breached the Capitol, Cox posted on Twitter: “Pence is a traitor.”

Hogan, who has no patience for Cox, also derided him in 2021 as a “QAnon conspiracy theorist.” Hogan’s term ends in January 2023 and he is barred by term limits from running again.

“He’s certainly not the kind of person I would vote to put in the legislature or support in any way for anything,” Hogan said in early 2021.

Cox has been critical of Hogan since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Cox led an unsuccessful lawsuit that challenged Hogan’s stay-at-home directive and other public health orders.

An attorney, Cox also represented a Harford County father and son who attempted to vote in person that year without wearing masks, as required at the time.

As a gubernatorial candidate, Cox has railed about vaccine requirements and mask mandates, though he does wear a mask in the House of Delegates chamber as required.

He’s also insinuated, without evidence, that the state government has engaged in improper relations with Chinese officials.

Cox’s resolution was referred to the House of Delegates Rules Committee, which typically holds hearings and votes on the legislation assigned to it. Should the resolution advance from the committee, the Maryland Constitution and General Assembly rules lay out a procedure similar to that of Congress for impeaching a president. A majority of members of the House of Delegates would have to agree to the impeachment, then Senate would hold a trial with a two-thirds vote needed to convict.

The team of Hogan’s endorsed candidate for governor, Kelly Schulz, dismissed the impeachment attempt as an ill-advised action from a poorly qualified candidate.

“A person who believes that Mike Pence is a traitor and that the Chinese Communist Party has infiltrated Maryland state government is not a rational actor,” said Doug Mayer, a senior adviser to Schulz’s campaign, in a statement.

“Unfortunately for his constituents, he’s also an extremely ineffective legislator who consistently fails to do anything remotely productive in service to them,” Mayer continued. “Add today’s nonsense to his long list of failures.”

This article will be updated.