House Democratic Chief Deputy Whip Dan Kildee (D-MI) on Thursday voiced his support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) decision to withhold the articles of impeachment from the Senate.
Kildee said Pelosi is “making the right decision,” adding Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “needs to stop playing games” so the House can “move forward.”
“[O]n the question whether I support her, she’s making the right decision,” Kildee told “CNN Newsroom.” “The House of Representatives is not absent from the Senate trial. We’re not sort of bystanders to it. We have to appoint impeachment managers, and organize the case around the structure that the Senate arrives at in order to present our case in the most compelling way. Determining who the impeachment managers, in part, is going to be determined by how the Senate organizes the trial.”
He continued, “But I think Senator McConnell needs to stop playing games. He has an important responsibility under the Constitution — not just to defend the president, but to conduct a trial in an open and dignified and fair fashion. So, when he’s willing to do that, obviously, we will appoint managers and send information, the articles over. But let’s also be clear: we’re in the holiday season. We voted in the last few days in the session in December. This trial wasn’t going to take place until some time in January anyway. We have time to get it right. I’m one that I don’t think we should wait forever. But the onus, really, the responsibility lies with Senator McConnell to stop being so obtuse and get about the business of organizing this trial, sit down with Senator [Chuck] Schumer, come to some agreement and move forward.”
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