House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is ruling out impeaching President Donald Trump, arguing in an interview with the Washington Post Monday that “he’s just not worth it.”
“Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country. And he’s just not worth it,” Pelosi told the Post.
Pelosi’s remarks come as House Democrats are expanding their investigation into President Trump and his allies, having requested documents from over 80 individuals and entities regarding their finances and communications. Some lawmakers are hopeful their probe will uncover impeachable offenses.
In addition to the speaker, other top Democrats have also voiced opposition to discussions about impeachment, including House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY), who has urged caution until the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on his investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election. Up until today, Pelosi publically agreed with Nadler, telling reporters last Tuesday that she first wanted to “see what the facts are, what the law is, and what the behavior is of the president,” before discussing impeachment. Now, it appears the California Democrat has all but written off the move.
Yet, some Democrats have signaled they will ignore House leadership and move forward with their own plans to bring impeachment proceedings against President Trump. In a recent appearance on MSNBC, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) claimed the president’s actions have already “crossed the threshold of what was brought for impeachment” against President Richard Nixon. “[W]hat we know is that the president’s behavior has already crossed the threshold of what was brought for impeachment before the House in the Nixon administration and the Clinton administration. In fact, he crossed those thresholds in the first weeks or months of office. And so, that is another means, if these other means fail, to control this president,” he said.
Rep. Al Green (D-TX) announced last month that he will bring a vote on impeachment to the House floor for a third time, despite failing to hold a successful vote in 2017 and 2018. The Texas Democrat said he will propose the measure regardless of Mueller’s findings, vowing to “act on Trump’s bigotry.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who previously faced rebuke for pledging to “impeach the motherfucker” — a reference to President Trump — recently said she will bring articles of impeachment by the end of March.