House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hinted that an impeachment inquiry vote could still happen, rather than the current process of letting committees investigate President Trump under the umbrella of impeachment.
Republicans have criticized Democrats for claiming an impeachment inquiry of the president has started without having an official impeachment inquiry resolution vote on the House floor.
“First of all, it’s not required. That’s not anything that’s excluded, and by the way, there are some Republicans that are very nervous about bringing that vote to the floor,” Pelosi said Wednesday at a news conference, when asked whether there will be an official impeachment inquiry vote soon.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham responded in a tweet to Pelosi’s claim that there are “nervous” Republicans who are concerned about an impeachment inquiry vote.
To @SpeakerPelosi,
Challenge these ‘weak’ House Republicans — who in your own words — are “nervous about bringing [an impeachment inquiry] vote to the floor.”
What’s equally absurd is that no member of the press challenged her on this statement. pic.twitter.com/WhfRhNXRMF— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 2, 2019
Democrats have defended Pelosi’s decision not to hold an official impeachment inquiry vote, backing her argument that it is unnecessary.
Nevertheless, Republicans point to the 1998 Clinton impeachment inquiry vote where 31 Democrats voted with House Republicans to open an impeachment inquiry on President Bill Clinton.
Graham said in a statement to the Washington Examiner, “Speaker Pelosi said there are ‘nervous’ members of the House about voting on an impeachment inquiry….but they aren’t Republicans.”
Additionally, a new Quinnipiac survey shows that registered voters supporting impeachment and removal spiked 10 points and opposing such actions dropped by the same number, leaving the American people evenly divided, 47% to 47%. The same survey shows that just 36% of the voting public thinks that impeachment supporters are pursuing an inquiry because of emerging facts as opposed to 56% who say the motivation is partisan politics.
