House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has a major problem on her hands after the release of the Mueller report — how to resist demands from her fractious caucus for President Trump to be impeached.
Pelosi, who has repeatedly downplayed the prospect of impeaching Trump, is spending the weekend reviewing Mueller’s findings with her committee leaders so they can lay out a response in a Democratic caucus conference call on Monday. “The legislative branch has the job of oversight of our democracy and we’ll exercise that,” Pelosi said Friday.
But the speaker’s measured approach conflicts what the calls of some members of her caucus for more immediate, drastic action.
High-profile progressive Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., announced following the Mueller report release that they would support an impeachment resolution offered by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. With original co-sponsor Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, the number of representatives backing the resolution is now four. Green is a also co-sponsor of the impeachment initiative introduced by Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., in January.
And House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., on Thursday urged the House to oust Trump from the White House.
“At this point, Congress’ failure to impeach is complacency in the face of the erosion of our democracy and constitutional norms,” Waters wrote in a statement. “Congress’ failure to impeach would set a dangerous precedent and imperil the nation as it would vest too much power in the Executive Branch and embolden future officeholders to further debase the U.S. presidency, if that’s even possible.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., on Friday told CNN he “may very well” be open to impeachment, though he wanted “to make sure that I’ve got all my facts in a row.”
On the other end of the spectrum, House Majority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told CNN Thursday that “impeachment is not worthwhile at this point,” given the next election was only 18 months away. Later he walked back the statement, however, tweeting that “all options ought to remain on the table,” better reflecting leadership’s talking points since Mueller’s findings became public.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told CNN later that evening “impeachment would be doomed to failure” without Republican help. While many congressional Republicans jumped to Trump’s defense, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, issued a statement critical of Trump Friday, saying he was “sickened at the extent and pervasiveness of dishonesty and misdirection by individuals in the highest office of the land, including the President.” Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, also offered criticism of Trump, although more tepid.
The House Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over impeachment proceedings once a resolution authorizing an investigation into impeachable conduct clears the House Rules Committee, a panel under Pelosi’s thumb. But current House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said on ABC Friday that “we’re not there” in terms of making the case to remove Trump from the Oval Office for collusion with Russians ahead of the 2016 election or obstruction of justice. Instead, Nadler said his focus was on information-gathering, first getting his hands on the unredacted Mueller report and then hosting a series of fact-finding sessions, starting next month with Attorney General William Barr.
“We have to hear from Mueller, ask him a lot of questions,” Nadler said, referring to a May 23 deadline he set for the special counsel to appear before his committee. “We have to hold hearings and hear from other people.”
Regardless of how Pelosi tries to keep her caucus together, the political reality of impeachment will likely play on her mind. Pelosi and Hoyer, both 79, are veterans of the impeachment process, having been in the House when articles were brought against President Bill Clinton. Clinton enjoyed a surge in popularity after the episode, while the GOP’s approval ratings plummeted — history that Pelosi and Hoyer will remember as the 2020 elections approach.
