House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she will not be leaning on any of the swing-district Democrats to back the articles of impeachment against President Trump during next week’s vote.
“We’re not whipping this,” said Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat. “This is a vote people will have to come to their own conclusion on.”
The speaker has remained hands-off regarding many of the vulnerable Democratic members, particularly those from Trump-won districts, as they hesitate to embrace impeachment.
Several have said over the past few days that they need more time to review the charges — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — against the president and will likely make a decision next week.
The House Judiciary Committee is set to vote on the two articles Thursday, teeing it up for a full House vote next week along with a historic vote on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and potentially a bill to keep the government funded.
Republicans, however, formally launched their whip campaign Thursday, according to Republican Whip Steve Scalise’s office.
“The impeachment inquiry has been rigged from the start, lacking fairness, transparency and most importantly, facts,” read a memo the whip office sent to other Republicans. “The sham articles of impeachment were written based on a report that was drafted with presumptions, cherry-picked witnesses, lack of input by the minority and the President, and contested facts. Even with the deck stacked in their favor, Democrats have failed to make their case because no impeachable actions occurred.”
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