House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s coronavirus committee will essentially be a new group that will work together to try to impeach President Donald Trump.
Pelosi will chair the committee with Democratic South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn. There will also be six other Democrats who will serve on the committee, including California Rep. Maxine Waters, New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney, New York Rep Nydia Velazquez, Illinois Rep. Bill Foster, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, and New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim, according to Fox News.
McCarthy said the group is “just Impeachment 2.0.”
Mark my words → Speaker Pelosi’s coronavirus committee is just Impeachment 2.0.
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) April 29, 2020
“We must be sure that the money we put forth goes to those who need it most, in a way that addresses disparities in access to health care and credit,” Pelosi said Wednesday in regard to the committee. “We also owe it to the American people to prevent waste, fraud and abuse and to protect against price-gouging and profiteering.”
House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) signs the Coronavirus Emergency Response Package which passed the House with only three votes against it on Capitol Hill on March 5, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
The House passed a $484 billion coronavirus phase 3.5 package last Thursday to help people and businesses struggling across the country. (RELATED: House Passes $484 Billion Coronavirus Phase 3.5 Bill)
The bill previously passed the Senate on a voice vote last Tuesday. The legislation included $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which White House officials told the Daily Caller will feature $60 billion carved out for institutions with less than $50 billion in total assets. The House passed the bill on a 388-5 vote.
Democratic leadership on Tuesday canceled the House of Representatives’ plans to return back to Washington next week, just one day after Democrats made the announcement. (RELATED: House Cancels Plan To Return Next Week One Day After Making Announcement)
According to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the Capitol physician advised them not to return due to a rise in coronavirus cases in the Washington, D.C. area.
“We made a judgment that we will not come back next week but that we hope to come back very soon,” Hoyer said.
McCarthy wrote a letterto Speaker Pelosi last week asking her to set a clear and safe path forward for reopening Congress.
“With the House now in its fourth week of regular session being suspended, I am writing to request that we work to establish a clear, safe, and effective plan for reopening Congress. In my view, conducting the business of the People’s House is the definition of ‘essential work’—just as many of our friends and neighbors continue working to hold up our communities on a daily basis,” McCarthy said in the letter.