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.
Imagine How Disruptive to Americans’ Lives Dems Will Be If They Regain Control in Congress, If They’re This Bad Now
‘Stunning Reversal’: Trump Re-Endorses GOP Rep. a Month After Dramatically Withdrawing Support
NYC Mayor Mamdani’s wife glorified terrorists in online posts, criticized US military: report
Chicago’s teetering debt is stark warning left-wing mayor is fueling ‘pay later’ doom cycle: expert
FBI warns Russian hackers targeting Americans on Signal; thousands of accounts compromised
GOP whip: ‘America-hating terrorists’ should lose citizenship under SCAM Act
Highway shut down after waste truck carrying dead bird flu ducks crashes in northern Indiana
Jimmy Gracey’s wallet found intact, but drugging not ruled out in death of Alabama student in Barcelona
DOJ seeks charges dismissed for two officers accused of falsifying Breonna Taylor warrant
Barron Trump Set to Enter ‘Next Phase’ of Life as He Celebrates ‘Turning Point’ Birthday: Report
Leftists Put Their Hatred on Full Display with Vile Responses to Chuck Norris’ Death
Pritzker pushes prosecutions of Trump officials as part of Dem ‘Project 2029’ agenda
California Democrats overwhelmingly favor Newsom over Harris for 2028: Poll
Trump administration sues Harvard over alleged failure to protect Jewish and Israeli students, seeks billions
Aspiring Pastor Becomes March Madness Hero by Leading Team to Epic Upset While Wearing His Faith on His Feet
…
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:
Imagine How Disruptive to Americans’ Lives Dems Will Be If They Regain Control in Congress, If They’re This Bad Now
‘Stunning Reversal’: Trump Re-Endorses GOP Rep. a Month After Dramatically Withdrawing Support
NYC Mayor Mamdani’s wife glorified terrorists in online posts, criticized US military: report
Chicago’s teetering debt is stark warning left-wing mayor is fueling ‘pay later’ doom cycle: expert
FBI warns Russian hackers targeting Americans on Signal; thousands of accounts compromised
GOP whip: ‘America-hating terrorists’ should lose citizenship under SCAM Act
Highway shut down after waste truck carrying dead bird flu ducks crashes in northern Indiana
Jimmy Gracey’s wallet found intact, but drugging not ruled out in death of Alabama student in Barcelona
DOJ seeks charges dismissed for two officers accused of falsifying Breonna Taylor warrant
Barron Trump Set to Enter ‘Next Phase’ of Life as He Celebrates ‘Turning Point’ Birthday: Report
Leftists Put Their Hatred on Full Display with Vile Responses to Chuck Norris’ Death
Pritzker pushes prosecutions of Trump officials as part of Dem ‘Project 2029’ agenda
California Democrats overwhelmingly favor Newsom over Harris for 2028: Poll
Trump administration sues Harvard over alleged failure to protect Jewish and Israeli students, seeks billions
Aspiring Pastor Becomes March Madness Hero by Leading Team to Epic Upset While Wearing His Faith on His Feet
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.
