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.
Rubio’s next move? Lawyers eye speech of ‘visionary’ leader for 2028 clues after GOP’s midterm wipeout
Tough Guy Viciously Attacks Family Over Christian Tract in Halloween Candy, Then Becomes Total Coward When Internet Tracks Him Down
Huge GOP election losses spur debates about populist economics
Jeffries shredded over Hegseth impeachment snafu as Dem jockeys for speaker’s gavel
Three-quarters of House members seeking statewide office lost
In Haiti, Bukele cracks down where UN failed
Pence leaves door open to 2028 White House run, issues stark warning to GOP after midterm disaster
Couple accused of killing registered sex offender in pre-planned stabbing in Arizona desert
Newsom reveals when he’ll decide on 2028 White House bid amid growing speculation
DHS touts highest ICE deportations in history, as Mullin says agency has been ‘unleashed’
Dan Patrick concedes Texas ‘turned purple’ after Democrats’ historic blue wave
Van Hollen challenges Schumer for Senate leadership after Democratic election sweep
‘They Still Do That?’: Watch Greta Thunberg Laugh Hysterically at Climate Activists She Ditched for Gaza
Texas man executed for beheading 3 children: ‘Going to be with my kids’
Sick Tattoos, Raised in Mosques – Man Accused of Murdering NYC Jogger Was Reported Multiple Times, but Left in Place Over Racism Fears
…
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:
Rubio’s next move? Lawyers eye speech of ‘visionary’ leader for 2028 clues after GOP’s midterm wipeout
Tough Guy Viciously Attacks Family Over Christian Tract in Halloween Candy, Then Becomes Total Coward When Internet Tracks Him Down
Huge GOP election losses spur debates about populist economics
Jeffries shredded over Hegseth impeachment snafu as Dem jockeys for speaker’s gavel
Three-quarters of House members seeking statewide office lost
In Haiti, Bukele cracks down where UN failed
Pence leaves door open to 2028 White House run, issues stark warning to GOP after midterm disaster
Couple accused of killing registered sex offender in pre-planned stabbing in Arizona desert
Newsom reveals when he’ll decide on 2028 White House bid amid growing speculation
DHS touts highest ICE deportations in history, as Mullin says agency has been ‘unleashed’
Dan Patrick concedes Texas ‘turned purple’ after Democrats’ historic blue wave
Van Hollen challenges Schumer for Senate leadership after Democratic election sweep
‘They Still Do That?’: Watch Greta Thunberg Laugh Hysterically at Climate Activists She Ditched for Gaza
Texas man executed for beheading 3 children: ‘Going to be with my kids’
Sick Tattoos, Raised in Mosques – Man Accused of Murdering NYC Jogger Was Reported Multiple Times, but Left in Place Over Racism Fears
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.
