The House has made much progress on impeachment — now only days away from a full floor vote — but the partisan battle lines haven’t moved an inch.
After more than two months of investigations and several weeks of hearings, Republicans and Democrats stuck to their scripts Thursday as the House Judiciary Committee prepared to sign off on two articles of impeachment against President Trump.
The vote to approve articles of impeachment was delayed until Friday morning at 10 a.m., House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler ruled late Thursday night.
The debate dragged on all day and into the night, delaying what is an all but inevitable approval of the articles by the Democrat-led committee to set up a House impeachment vote next week.
Democrats shot down a series of Republican amendments, included attempts to strike both articles of impeachment, note Ukraine ultimately received the military aid temporarily withheld by the Trump administration, and note the legitimacy of suspicions about Vice President Joseph R. Biden’s son Hunter working in Ukraine.
The Republican lawmakers repeated their objections to what they call an unfair process, accusing the Democrats of abuse of power themselves.
They were particularly miffed that Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler dismissed their request to schedule a hearing for Republicans to call their witnesses rather than continue with the debate.
“One day, this majority will be back in the minority and they will be crying and screaming for minority rights to be upheld, and I will just point back to 2019 and say this is the year you put a dagger in minority rights,” said Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the committee.
Republicans also continued to rail against the Democrats’ articles of impeachment, saying neither the charge of abuse of power nor obstruction of Congress qualify under the high crime or misdemeanor standard dictated by the Constitution for impeaching a president.
Democrats countered Republicans aren’t standing up for the Constitution and are simply falling in line with the president, afraid to challenge him.
They reiterated their argument that the facts of their case are uncontested by several of the key witnesses who testified as part of the inquiry — something Republicans continue to reject.
“How about the highest crime that one who holds public office could commit? Crime against our Constitution,” said Rep. Eric Swalwell, California Democrat. “I want to hear someone dispute the fact that President Trump invoked his rival’s name four times on that July 25 call. I want to hear someone dispute the fact that Trump’s chief of staff said, ’We are withholding the military aid because the Ukrainians need to investigate 2016.’”
Arguments from each side stuck a personal note. The debate took on a particularly biting tone in an exchange between Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Hank Johnson.
Mr. Gaetz, Florida Republican, introduced an amendment that would have removed a reference to the former vice president and add a reference to “a well-known corrupt company, Burisma, and its corrupt hiring of Hunter Biden.”
He then cited several reports about the former vice president’s son smoking crack cocaine and struggling with drug addiction.
“I don’t want to make light of anyone’s substance abuse issues,” Mr. Gaetz said.
Mr. Johnson, Georgia Democrat, shot back: “The pot calling the kettle black is not something that we should do.”
The veiled swipe at Mr. Gaetz’s DUI arrest in 2008 drew laughter from the crowd.
“I don’t know what members, if any, have had any problems with substance abuse, been busted in DUI. I don’t know,” Mr. Johnson said. “But if I did, I wouldn’t raise it against anyone on this committee. I don’t think it’s proper.”
Though the rhetoric on both sides of the impeachment fight has not changed, the polls have shown public support for impeachment waning.
That has scores of vulnerable House Democrats in swing districts carefully considering their vote.
Despite the uncertainty, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she will not lean on her members to stay in line.
“We’re not whipping this,” the California Democrat said. “This is a vote people will have to come to their own conclusion on.”
House Republican leaders, on the other hand, launched an effort to keep GOP lawmakers in line, known as whipping the vote.
It is the fourth time in American history that the House has considered impeaching the president.
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