Currents News Staff
The tide has turned quickly among congressional Democrats, and now House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says her party will move forward with an impeachment inquiry.
It’s a historic and dramatic move that will now dominate Capitol Hill.
“The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law,” said Pelosi.
House GOP leadership was sharply critical of the speaker.
“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 an impeachment inquiry,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
Movement toward an impeachment inquiry escalated quickly amid reports of a controversial July phone call in which President Trump admits he discussed former Vice President Joe Biden and his son with the president of Ukraine.
The call is part of a whistleblower complaint to the intelligence community’s Inspector General.
For some democrats, even in vulnerable swing districts next year, the reports marked a turning point.
“What we discovered this past weekend was egregious,” said Rep. Dean Phillips from Minnesota.
President Trump responded to the impeachment inquiry on Twitter, calling it, a “witch hunt” and saying “they never even saw the transcript of the call.”
The White House says they’ll release that transcript today.
Some republicans say democrats got ahead of themselves by launching the inquiry, before seeing it.