Dems see GOP effort to drive them to impeach Trump
By Mike Lillis and Cristina Marcos - 05/05/19 06:00 AM EDT
House Democratic leaders facing liberal calls for impeaching President Trump are confronting increasing pressure from an unlikely faction: Republicans who appear eager to goad them into it.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her leadership team have repeatedly sought to defuse the appeals for impeachment hearings, deeming them premature, and some Democrats sense the Republicans are setting a political trap to boost their ally in the White House.
But recent stonewalling actions by the administration have only fueled the liberal push to oust the president, complicating leadership efforts to keep a lid on the campaign.
GOP leaders know impeachment divides Democrats, and see a clear political advantage in promoting the debate. The Republicans’ campaign arm is steadily blasting emails linking moderate Democrats in swing districts to the impeachment effort. And a growing number of GOP lawmakers are all but daring Democratic leaders to launch the process while it remains unpopular with voters — a strategy not overlooked by top Democrats vowing to resist the bait.
“They would love to drive this to an impeachment, because they think it will be their political salvation,†Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a Judiciary Committee member, said of Republicans.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/442115-dems-see-gop-effort-to-drive-them-to-impeach-trump
