Top House Democrat On Impeaching Trump: It's 'Already Begun'
Democratic House whip, South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn goes against Pelosi
© press
A top House Democrat has claimed that it is more a matter of “when” than “if" they impeach President Donald Trump.
Democratic House whip, South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, went against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's assertion that impeachment could still be far off, insisting the Democrats are now laying the groundworks.
“I think we’ve already begun. We’ve got all of these committees doing their work, we’re having hearings,” Clyburn said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
But the issue for impeachment has caused rifts between many Democrats as their focus is shifting away from the 2020 presidential election.
Nancy Pelosi has been trying to quell talk of impeaching Trump over fears it may cost them the 2020 election.
© press
[RELATED] Nancy Pelosi Tells Europe She Has Equal Power; Trump is Not in Charge
But one senior Democrat told Fox News last month that House Speaker could soon be left with no choice but to embrace calls from fellow Dems to move forward with an impeachment inquiry against President Trump.
During a Democratic Steering and Policy Committee meeting, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) insisted on impeachment, but Pelosi was unmoved.
The Democrats have House majority that could pass articles of impeachment against Trump, but unfortunately for them, the Republican-majority Senate is not likely to make those stick.
Even if the House acts, Trump is unlikely to be removed from office.
The New York Times surveyed Democrats finding 56 Democrats support removing Trump while 59 are either opposed for now.
The Times added that 20 members had not yet responded.
But only one House Republican, Justin Amash of Michigan, supported impeaching Trump.
.@SenJohnKennedy tells Democrats to make a decision on impeachment: “Impeachment polls right up there with skim milk with the American people. But my advice to my Democratic friends is, if you want to do it, go hard or go home.” pic.twitter.com/3zKjCjZe5r
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) June 2, 2019
© press
Clyburn claimed that special council Robert Mueller laid down the path for impeaching Trump.
“I never said he should not be impeached. What I said time and time again is Mueller has developed the grounds for impeachment.
The House has to determine the timing for impeachment. There’s a big difference,” Clyburn said.
“Haste makes waste. Let’s take our time and do this efficiently, not just effectively. All it takes is 218 votes to effectively impeach the president,” he said.
“What Nancy Pelosi is trying to do, and the rest of us in the House of Representatives, is to develop a process by which we can efficiently move on this issue so that when we get to a vote, it would be something that she calls ‘ironclad,’ I call ‘effective,’” he added.
He says impeachment would not be seen as a strictly political move if done correctly.
Calls for Trump's impeachment grew after Democrats won the Hosuemajoryt in the midterms.
“Impeachment polls right up there with skim milk among the American people. But my advice to my Democratic friends is if you want to do it, go hard or go home,” Kennedy said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“If you want to do it, go to Amazon online, buy a spine and do it,” he said.
“If you’re not going to do it, then let us get back to work.”
