Pelosi will now face increased pressure to back impeachment proceedings.
The impeachment dam has broken.
More than half of House Democrats say they would vote to launch impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, a crucial threshold that backers say will require Speaker Nancy Pelosi to reconsider her steadfast opposition.
Though Pelosi has given no indication that even a majority of Democrats embracing impeachment proceedings would shift her view, supporters of an inquiry argue that crossing the halfway mark among Democrats will be a symbolic boost that could shift the political dynamic.
“The President’s repeated abuses have brought American democracy to a perilous crossroads,” said Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who announced his support on Tuesday. “Following the guidance of the Constitution – which I have sworn to uphold – is the only way to achieve justice.”
Democrats who support impeachment proceedings eclipsed the halfway mark — 118 out of 235 voting members — on Thursday, when Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida announced his support. Deutch was also the 23rd Democratic lawmaker to support impeachment proceedings in the week since former special counsel Robert Mueller testified to Congress, affirming publicly his damning evidence that Trump attempted to obstruct justice.
Mueller’s appearance reignited a push for impeachment proceedings among Democrats, who had been slowly gathering momentum for the effort since April. Though his testimony was at times halting, Mueller confirmed to lawmaker his report’s findings that Trump’s 2016 campaign welcomed Russian assistance and that Trump himself repeatedly attempted to undermine the investigation of Russia’s hacking and propaganda operation.
Perhaps more significant than the raw number of Democrats backing an inquiry is the identities of the members themselves. The latest additions include Reps. Mike Levin (D-Calif.), Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) and Jason Crow (D-Colo.), three freshmen who flipped Republican-held districts in November. Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), a member of Pelosi’s leadership team, added her name to the list on Friday.
Engel, a veteran lawmaker from New York City, is also one of six committee chairmen tasked by Pelosi with investigating Trump’s conduct. He’s the second of those committee leaders, along with Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), to publicly demand an impeachment inquiry. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) has privately advocated for one as well.
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More than half of all House Democrats now want to pursue impeachment proceedings, a threshold that may cause Speaker Nancy Pelosi to reconsider her steadfast opposition https://t.co/wgg6MM47I6
— POLITICO (@politico) August 1, 2019
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