President Trump Impeachment Drama Continues

The chaos continues on Capitol Hill. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is getting a headcount of support for the impeachment push. As of 6:55am this morning, 219 House Democrats (plus Independent Justin Amash) support some type of impeachment or impeachment inquiry. 16 Democrats still have not signaled support. The threshold needed for an impeachment vote is 218 votes, so theoretically, the Democrats have enough votes. The problem for the Left is HOW exactly to proceed. Some want an inquiry, while others support drafting articles of impeachment right away.

Nancy Pelosi has a strategic problem – she has been extremely resistant to the idea of impeachment. As one of the most experienced and clever Democratic politicians, she knows how unfavorable the American public is to impeachment. However, the progressive wing of the party (notably representatives Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez) are outspoken in support of impeachment. The activist progressive base of Democratic support is ravenous for a win against Trump. Pelosi has been pushed into a corner and finally caved. She has opened a can of worms she cannot close again. If she changes her mind it will REALLY upset the Democratic base and her political future. Nancy Pelosi must impeach President Trump.

Reminder: President Trump can be impeached in the House but not be removed from office. Removal would require a majority vote in the Senate, which is held by Republicans. The betting markets are projecting the likelihood of President Trump being impeached at 63%. On the flip side, they project a 89% chance Trump will still be the president at the end of 2019. Both illustrate my point; President Trump will likely be impeached, but not removed.

In full honesty, there are so many unknowns and possibilities at this point in time. From my perspective, this whole thing is a stupid sham. After two and a half years of Russia nonsense blowing up in their faces, the Democrats have shifted their sights towards Ukraine. I am convinced this hyped drama has very little underlying grounds for impeachment. Democrats have wanted Trump impeached since before he took office; this is just another media ploy to feed the narrative.

PC: The Atlantic.