House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy fired back at Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi after she came out in favor of the impeachment of President Donald Trump for the first time Tuesday after meeting with her caucus.
In a Tuesday night press conference on Capitol Hill, McCarthy said Pelosi’s calls for impeachment are due to the Democrats losing the presidency in 2016, saying this is proof they have not yet got over the election. McCarthy also said their job is to legislate, not to continue to find dirt on the President.
“This election is over. I realize 2016 did not turn out the way Speaker Pelosi wanted it to happen. But she cannot change the laws of this Congress. She cannot unilaterally decide when an impeachment inquiry,” McCarthy said to reporters. “What she said today made no difference of what’s been going on.” (RELATED: Nancy Pelosi Comes Out In Favor Of Impeachment)
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) holds his weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol June 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Pelosi publicly announced late Tuesday afternoon, “Today I’m announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry.” (RELATED: McCarthy Meets With US Trade Rep Robert Lighthizer About USMCA)
Despite Pelosi’s early reluctance to push for impeachment, there are currently 174 Democrats who support impeachment or an impeachment inquiry, compared to the 61 Democrats who do not yet support impeachment or an impeachment inquiry. Pelosi has said she believes Trump is “goading” Democrats to impeach him because he thinks it will help him fire up his base.
Many of Pelosi’s Democratic colleagues previously pushed for impeaching Trump, including Democratic Texas Rep. Al Green, who broke with Pelosi when he vowed to force a vote to impeach Trump in late March. Green, who previously had several bills to impeach Trump overwhelmingly rejected by the House of Representatives, called for a third impeachment vote. Pelosi said impeachment was “just not worth it” in a March interview.
Tuesday’s comments were the first time Pelosi said Trump should be impeached.