President Donald Trump defended Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday, as she drew criticism for slow-walking impeachment hearings on the president.
When asked by a reporter if he thought Pelosi was “scared” of impeaching him, he replied, “I don’t think she’s scared of anything.”
“I think she’s a smart woman and I think she knows exactly what she’s doing,” Trump said as he left the White House.
Pelosi defended her process during a press briefing on Thursday, commenting on the Judiciary Committee vote for impeachment investigations.
As reporters continued to press her on impeachment, she expressed frustration.
“I’m not answering any more questions about a possible inquiry, investigation, and the rest,” she replied, ending the press conference.
Earlier in the press conference, she suggested that Americans found impeachment hearings “divisive.”
“I’ve traveled the entire country. Come with me some time, and you’ll hear what the American people are saying,” she said. “They understand that impeachment is a very divisive measure, but if we have to go there, we’ll have to go there.”
Some lawmakers, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, claimed that a House Judiciary Committee vote to investigate impeachment was, in fact, an impeachment investigation.
“Some call this process an impeachment inquiry. Some call it an impeachment investigation,” Nadler said. “There is no legal difference between these terms, and I no longer care to argue about the nomenclature.”