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.
Obama Operative Turned Trump Voter Exposes the Anti-Working-Class Bigotry That Destroyed the Democrats
Fox News Stars Mourn the Brutal Murder of a Beloved ‘Fan Who Became a Friend’
EXCLUSIVE: Pence group knocks Vance plan to pay stay-at-home parents up to $9K per child
Clinton, Bush received multiple warnings on bin Laden hijack plots before 9/11, declassified files show
Nashville Airport Authority Votes Unanimously to Change Name to Honor Dolly Parton
Watch: Convention Crowd Symbolically Anoints JD Vance for 2028 with Chant
Inside Trump’s intimate meeting with nation’s bravest soldiers during whirlwind Texas trip
California woman chased, fatally shot by illegal immigrant DoorDash driver who stalked her for months: DHS
AOC, Mamdani interaction caught on cam at 9/11 memorial sparks online fury
Breaking: Newly Declassified 9/11 Documents Reveal the Repeated Warnings Received by Clinton and Bush
The ‘Jumper’ Victims of 9/11 Deserve to Have Their Stories Heard: And Yet They’ve Been Erased by the Media
Attacks of 9/11 sent Rep. Eli Crane into the military and shaped the way he views the Iran war
Texas man remembered by Fox News hosts after repeat offender arrested in savage park bench slaying
Reporter’s Notebook: Countdown is on as Senate races to pass crypto, college sports bills
Court documents show groups inspiring ‘satanist’ teenager’s alleged plans to attack Christians
…
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:
Obama Operative Turned Trump Voter Exposes the Anti-Working-Class Bigotry That Destroyed the Democrats
Fox News Stars Mourn the Brutal Murder of a Beloved ‘Fan Who Became a Friend’
EXCLUSIVE: Pence group knocks Vance plan to pay stay-at-home parents up to $9K per child
Clinton, Bush received multiple warnings on bin Laden hijack plots before 9/11, declassified files show
Nashville Airport Authority Votes Unanimously to Change Name to Honor Dolly Parton
Watch: Convention Crowd Symbolically Anoints JD Vance for 2028 with Chant
Inside Trump’s intimate meeting with nation’s bravest soldiers during whirlwind Texas trip
California woman chased, fatally shot by illegal immigrant DoorDash driver who stalked her for months: DHS
AOC, Mamdani interaction caught on cam at 9/11 memorial sparks online fury
Breaking: Newly Declassified 9/11 Documents Reveal the Repeated Warnings Received by Clinton and Bush
The ‘Jumper’ Victims of 9/11 Deserve to Have Their Stories Heard: And Yet They’ve Been Erased by the Media
Attacks of 9/11 sent Rep. Eli Crane into the military and shaped the way he views the Iran war
Texas man remembered by Fox News hosts after repeat offender arrested in savage park bench slaying
Reporter’s Notebook: Countdown is on as Senate races to pass crypto, college sports bills
Court documents show groups inspiring ‘satanist’ teenager’s alleged plans to attack Christians
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.
