The Democratic Party, on Wednesday, voted overwhelmingly for Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) to replace resigned Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) on the House Judiciary Committee.
Nadler, a constitutional law expert, won the spot over Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), an architect of immigration legislation, by secret ballot with 118 to 72 votes.
The Washington Post noted on Thursday that the decision to fill their top spot on the committee demonstrates the Democratic Party’s willingness “[t]o ready themselves for a battle with Trump that could end with impeachment proceedings.”
Should the Democrats regain control of the House during next year’s mid-term elections, they intend to lay the groundwork to get Trump impeached.
“There is nobody better prepared, if the president messes around with the Constitution, to handle it than Jerry Nadler,” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) said after Wednesday’s vote, according to the Washington Post.
For several months now, Democratic leadership, including Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), have pushed their party to put a lid on impeachment talks. Nadler is well-respected in the Democratic Caucus and was also the senior member of the House Judiciary Committee which gave him a slight edge among New York’s 18 Democratic lawmakers and many members of the Congressional Black Caucus, which has a history of holding seniority in high regard in its decision-making process.
However, Lofgren is also respected by the Democratic Caucus, prompting Rep. John Larson (D-CT) to tell the Hill, “Either one of them would have been great. There would have been no loser no matter what.”
During last week’s Oversight Hearing at the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Nadler stated in his opening remarks, “President Trump has engaged in a persistent and dangerous effort to discredit both the free press and the Department of Justice. These are the agencies and institutions under our jurisdictions.”
He said, referring to the Republicans in power, “Every minute that our majority wastes on covering for President Trump is a minute lost on finding a solution for the DREAMers, for curbing a vicious spike in hate crimes, or preventing dangerous individuals from purchasing firearms, or stopping the president from further damaging the constitutional order.”
Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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