Speaker Nancy Pelosi may be a liberal from San Francisco, California and a diehard political opponent of President Donald Trump, but she is also an institutionalist at heart. Having gone through the saga of former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment in the late 1990s, she has never been a fan of using the procedure to push a president out the door. For Pelosi, Trump’s impeachment has always been a political risk for the Democratic Party, particularly for Democratic politicians in Trump districts who face a tough re-election campaign next year.
The dam, however, has broken. The latest scandal enveloping the White House, in which Trump purportedly pressured newly-elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the son of the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for corruption, was one scandal too many. Pelosi could no longer resist those in her caucus who were openly lobbying for a full impeachment investigation. So on Tuesday, standing solemnly in front of the microphone, she finally announced one.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in