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.
ActBlue’s lawyers said it may have misled Congress on foreign donations: Report
Army chief of staff ordered to retire immediately as Hegseth continues Pentagon shakeup
Watch: Trump Declares that Because of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection, ‘Not One Thing Can Separate Humanity from the Power of God’s Everlasting Love’
Trump supporter allegedly killed by ex-coworker who expressed ‘animosity’ over political beliefs: complaint
GOP rails against ‘s— sandwich’ deal as all eyes turn to House to end DHS shutdown
Girl Who Went Missing in 1994 Found Alive
Man accused of killing parents with hammer, knife, then calling 911 to confess: report
Harris ripped over video previewing Trump speech she claims she wouldn’t watch: ‘Sit this one out’
Utter Humiliation: Watch Dem Rep Ask 100 People at Black Church to Raise a Hand if They Don’t Have ID – What Happens Next Is Priceless
Jasmine Crockett Attempts to Defend Ketanji Brown Jackson by Playing the Race Card, Accidentally Proves Conservatives’ Point
California hit with fresh setback in failed gender secrecy case costing taxpayers millions
UK hosts summit on reopening Strait of Hormuz following Trump demand: ‘Take care of it’
Pam Bondi already fired as attorney general, Cabinet official teed up as replacement: sources
Schumer, Jeffries sue Trump, accuse him of trying to ‘rig’ mail-in voting
Priceless Video: Hospice Fraudsters in CA Rip Down Sign, Flee in $200k Mercedes When Nick Shirley Pays ‘Friendly’ Visit
…
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:
ActBlue’s lawyers said it may have misled Congress on foreign donations: Report
Army chief of staff ordered to retire immediately as Hegseth continues Pentagon shakeup
Watch: Trump Declares that Because of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection, ‘Not One Thing Can Separate Humanity from the Power of God’s Everlasting Love’
Trump supporter allegedly killed by ex-coworker who expressed ‘animosity’ over political beliefs: complaint
GOP rails against ‘s— sandwich’ deal as all eyes turn to House to end DHS shutdown
Girl Who Went Missing in 1994 Found Alive
Man accused of killing parents with hammer, knife, then calling 911 to confess: report
Harris ripped over video previewing Trump speech she claims she wouldn’t watch: ‘Sit this one out’
Utter Humiliation: Watch Dem Rep Ask 100 People at Black Church to Raise a Hand if They Don’t Have ID – What Happens Next Is Priceless
Jasmine Crockett Attempts to Defend Ketanji Brown Jackson by Playing the Race Card, Accidentally Proves Conservatives’ Point
California hit with fresh setback in failed gender secrecy case costing taxpayers millions
UK hosts summit on reopening Strait of Hormuz following Trump demand: ‘Take care of it’
Pam Bondi already fired as attorney general, Cabinet official teed up as replacement: sources
Schumer, Jeffries sue Trump, accuse him of trying to ‘rig’ mail-in voting
Priceless Video: Hospice Fraudsters in CA Rip Down Sign, Flee in $200k Mercedes When Nick Shirley Pays ‘Friendly’ Visit
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.
