Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said on Monday she supports Congress moving forward with impeaching President Trump.
But the 2020 candidate for president also hedged her comments during a CNN town hall in New Hampshire, dubbing herself a realist and suggesting the effort is unlikely to succeed.
“I think we are very good reason to believe that there is an investigation that has been conducted which has produced evidence that tells us that this president and his administration engaged in obstruction of justice. I believe Congress should take the steps towards impeachment,” Harris said.
Harris’ support for impeachment follows the release last week of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who also participated in a CNN town hall Monday, recently became the first top-tier Democratic presidential candidate to call for impeachment proceedings against Trump.
[Related: Lindsey Graham: Democrats will ‘stampede’ to impeach Trump using Mueller report]
Harris warned impeachment is an uphill battle because Republicans have a majority in the Senate.
“I am also a realist. And when I look at what has been happening over the two years and some months I’ve been in the United States Senate, I have also witnessed folks in the United States Congress, and in particular in the GOP, who have been presented with many reasons to push back against this president and they have not,” Harris said.
Despite the slim odds of impeachment, Harris said she still favors an effort to try.
“We have to be realistic about what might be the end result, but that doesn’t mean the process should not take hold,” Harris said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., held a call with her caucus on Monday to encourage Democrats to support House committees investigating Trump rather than calling for Trump’s immediate impeachment. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., has already filed a subpoena for the full, unredacted Mueller report.
