The majority of House Democrats now support beginning impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, increasing the odds that Speaker Nancy Pelosi could reconsider her stance.
Pelosi herself has never signaled that crossing the halfway threshold could make her change her mind. Impeachment backers say that the figure is an important and symbolic boost that could shift the political dynamic.
“The President’s repeated abuses have brought American democracy to a perilous crossroads,” said the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Eliot Engel, who announced his support on Tuesday. “Following the guidance of the Constitution — which I have sworn to uphold — is the only way to achieve justice.”
Currently, 118 out of 235 House Democrats support impeachment inquiry with Representative Ted Deutch being the latest lawmaker to join his colleagues in backing the effort. He was also among those supporting impeachment proceedings after former special counsel Robert Mueller testified before Congress about the President’s attempts to obstruct justice.
His appearance before two congressional committees prompted Democrats to intensify their calls for opening impeachment proceedings. Mueller confirmed his report’s findings that Trump’s 2016 campaign welcomed Russian assistance and that Trump repeatedly attempted to undermine the investigation into it, Politico reports.
President Trump’s recent attacks on a group of Democratic lawmakers and on Representative Elijah Cummings have likewise contributed to Democrats backing impeachment more fervently.
“The President’s shameful comments about Congressman Cummings make it evident that his bigotry is not going away,” Representative Al Green tweeted on Sunday. “We can no longer tolerate it and condemnation by the House of Representatives clearly wasn’t enough. We must impeach.”
However, Pelosi is unlikely to shift her view for several reasons, most notably because she believes a successful impeachment in the House would send the question to the Republican-controlled Senate where Trump is certainly to be acquitted, handing him a considerable political victory and a weapon going into the 2020 elections.
She has instead advocated for a different approach, consisting of persistent House investigations and legal fights to obtain Trump’s personal financial records.
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