House Democrats remain divided on impeachment, with only 175 out of the party’s 235 U.S. Representatives willing to vote for ousting President Donald Trump, according to a Wednesday report citing Capitol Hill insiders.
Politico’s morning Playbook pegs the current whip count at 43 votes shy of the 218 needed to start the impeachment process: “Right now, Democratic insiders say 175 of their members would vote for impeachment today on the House floor,” write authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman.
They present this figure while discussing fallout over the combative Tuesday hearing with Corey Lewandowski, billed as a fact-finding session on “presidential obstruction of justice and abuse of power.” The former Trump campaign manager declined to answer questions citing executive privilege, “filibustered,” and mocked Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) — the figurehead of far-left impeachment efforts among party leadership. Nadler suggested Tuesday evening the Lewandowski could be held in contempt of Congress for his conduct during the hearing.
Palmer and Sherman say Lewandowski’s testimony did not help some skeptical Democrats sign on for impeachment. “Some Democrats privately told us that Lewandowski’s stonewalling was certainly enough to hold him in contempt,” they write. “But the party is so deeply divided on what they should do next that, to many Dems, it all seemed like a circus without a clear purpose.” – READ MORE