Some House Democrats are privately calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to hold a vote to formalize the impeachment inquiry to undermine Republican criticism that the process is illegitimate, Politico reported this week.
So far, Pelosi has refused to schedule a vote, arguing that the Constitution and House rules do not require the lawmakers to do so.
Meanwhile, the White House and its Republican congressional allies contend that such a vote is necessary to legitimize the inquiry per the recognized standards of previous impeachment efforts.
Politico reported:
Some Democratic lawmakers and aides have begun to say privately — and, to a lesser extent, publicly — that the House should just vote to formalize the inquiry, robbing the GOP of its main talking point.
Hillary Clinton caught on video stepping back after pushy former president nudges her at busy NYC intersection
3 brothers of Iraqi descent arrested in Oslo for allegedly ‘terror bombing’ of US Embassy
Republican Sen. John Cornyn Calls on GOP to Change Filibuster and Pass SAVE Act as He Prepares for Primary Runoff Against Ken Paxton
Minnesota human services officials skip fraud hearing as Walz promises reform
‘You can cry about it’: Tempers flare in Senate as DHS shutdown debate erupts, stalemate digs deeper
Conquered: NYC Firefighters Angry After Bosses, Muslim Firefighters Make Startling Change to 9/11 Memorial Area for Ramadan
Wife of former Gov Terry McAuliffe jumps into crowded Dem congressional primary race
Hawley introduces bill to strip FDA approval from ‘inherently dangerous’ abortion pill
Gene Simmons tells celebrities ‘shut the f*** up’ about politics
Developing: FBI Took Terabytes of Arizona Election Data After Reviewing ‘Alarming’ Report Citing Opened Pallets Full of Blank Ballots
Starmer was warned about ‘reputational risk’ of Peter Mandelson’s Epstein ties, files show
Foreign-backed group serves as bridge between GOP and Russia-friendly Europeans
Trump ally Clay Fuller advances in Georgia fight for MTG’s former seat
DOJ leader swats back DNC election security suit, mocks demands as kid’s ‘tooth fairy’ wish list
Thune Signals SAVE Act Is Dead in the Senate – If You Skip Voting in Primaries, You Own a Share of the Blame
…
Though a small but growing chorus of Democrats has started urging a vote simply to undercut this GOP talking point, others say that nothing will stop Trump and his supporters from claiming Democrats’ efforts are unfair and inconsistent with past impeachment procedures. They say the party shouldn’t take the White House’s bait, arguing that the president’s defenders will simply find other reasons to not comply with the inquiry.
The “private” debate on whether or not to hold a vote “is threatening to cleave Democrats’ unified front” in favor of impeachment, the news outlet added.
Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) publicly called for a vote, telling Politico,“If Nancy asked me, I would say sure, let’s have a vote. Everybody’s on record, so they’re not going to vote any differently. What’s the danger in having a vote to formalize it?”
House lawmakers voted to allow an investigation into whether to impeach President Bill Clinton and President Richard Nixon. Republicans have pointed to those votes as evidence that Democrats are acting in an unfair and illegitimate manner.
Politico noted:
Hillary Clinton caught on video stepping back after pushy former president nudges her at busy NYC intersection
3 brothers of Iraqi descent arrested in Oslo for allegedly ‘terror bombing’ of US Embassy
Republican Sen. John Cornyn Calls on GOP to Change Filibuster and Pass SAVE Act as He Prepares for Primary Runoff Against Ken Paxton
Minnesota human services officials skip fraud hearing as Walz promises reform
‘You can cry about it’: Tempers flare in Senate as DHS shutdown debate erupts, stalemate digs deeper
Conquered: NYC Firefighters Angry After Bosses, Muslim Firefighters Make Startling Change to 9/11 Memorial Area for Ramadan
Wife of former Gov Terry McAuliffe jumps into crowded Dem congressional primary race
Hawley introduces bill to strip FDA approval from ‘inherently dangerous’ abortion pill
Gene Simmons tells celebrities ‘shut the f*** up’ about politics
Developing: FBI Took Terabytes of Arizona Election Data After Reviewing ‘Alarming’ Report Citing Opened Pallets Full of Blank Ballots
Starmer was warned about ‘reputational risk’ of Peter Mandelson’s Epstein ties, files show
Foreign-backed group serves as bridge between GOP and Russia-friendly Europeans
Trump ally Clay Fuller advances in Georgia fight for MTG’s former seat
DOJ leader swats back DNC election security suit, mocks demands as kid’s ‘tooth fairy’ wish list
Thune Signals SAVE Act Is Dead in the Senate – If You Skip Voting in Primaries, You Own a Share of the Blame
Democrats have long argued that they don’t need a vote to launch formal impeachment proceedings, even if that had been the practice in prior presidential impeachment processes. In fact, House lawyers backed by Pelosi have made that argument in a succession of court cases seeking evidence to support their impeachment inquiry, and proponents of that position worry a formal vote would undercut their legal claims.
Similarly, Democrats are worried that a near-term floor vote would drive away a handful of Republicans who are wavering over whether to support impeachment proceedings. A party-line vote would hand the White House another talking point, they argue: that impeachment is a purely partisan effort by Democrats.
In a letter to Pelosi and the House chairmen pursuing the impeachment inquiry, the White House said the Democrats were conducting a “constitutionally invalid” and “illegitimate” impeachment probe that absolves lawmakers of “taking political accountability.”
The White House said it would not cooperate with the ongoing “partisan” impeachment investigation. Although the letter stopped short of explicitly calling on Pelosi to hold a vote, it all but dared the Speaker to do so.
Most of the 235 members of the House Democratic Caucus support the impeachment probe, but there are still eight who did not, as of Thursday afternoon, a tally from the New York Times revealed.
Story cited here.
