Pelosi has been holding the articles of impeachment for more than two weeks now.
She was doing this in order to try to hijack the Senate trial, but Mitch McConnell has stood firm.
After McConnell stated he was going to move on to other business, Pelosi finally caved and announced the articles will be sent over to the Senate next week.
Now or Never
On Thursday, Senator McConnell had about enough of Pelosi’s political theater.
He announced that unless he had the articles immediately, the Senate was going to put the impeachment on the backburner and he would move on to other business.
Pelosi, on Friday, clearly panicked.
She stated, “I have asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to be prepared to bring to the Floor next week a resolution to appoint managers and transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate.
“I will be consulting with you at our Tuesday House Democratic Caucus meeting on how we proceed further.”
Under Pressure
Not only did McConnell put Pelosi under significant pressure, but she was also facing a lot of pressure from within her own party.
Several House Democrats have been very vocal about getting the articles over to the Senate to proceed.
However, the biggest voice that probably motivated Pelosi from her own party was Senator Diane Feinstein of California.
During an interview last week, Feinstein stated she did not understand the delay and stated that it served no purpose.
She would later add, “The longer it goes on the less urgent it becomes.
“So, if it’s so serious and urgent, send them over. If it isn’t, don’t send them over.”
Very strong words from within her own party.
Clearly, the party members were getting frustrated and whatever clout Pelosi gained by calling for the impeachment was quickly being lost for the delay.
Even the liberal pundits in the media started to turn against her.
While the rules of the Senate trial are still unclear, McConnell has promised to use the Clinton impeachment as a model, so we can expect some witnesses to be heard from, but surely the Dems will not get their entire wish list.
Either way, Pelosi is clearly on the clock right now.