Varney: Don't hold your breath on an impeachment vote
The impeachment effort has been launched, and launched in very strong terms.
Speaker Pelosi says the president has betrayed his oath of office, betrayed national security and betrayed the integrity of elections. He has, she says, "seriously violated the Constitution."
If the speaker thinks President Trump is so bad, why no vote among House Democrats? When will the speaker schedule a vote? Answer: do not hold your breath.
The last thing many Democrats want is to go on record. Of course, in the far-left precincts of New York and California, they're very eager to bang the impeachment drum in public. But the moderates, not so much. For them, accountability may mean liability. Vote for impeachment now and they could lose in 2020.
The speaker also has the Senate in mind. The Constitution requires a two-thirds majority to convict and remove the president from office. With 53 Republicans in the Senate, impeachment is extremely unlikely. Knowing that, Democrats don't want to go on record supporting something they know will lose. That's another reason why there's not likely to be a House vote anytime soon.
Now look back at the impeachment challenges to former Presidents Nixon and Clinton. In both cases, it was a bipartisan effort. Some Republicans voted against Republican Richard Nixon. Some Democrats voted against Democrat Bill Clinton. It's not like that now. The impeachment of Donald Trump is at this point almost entirely partisan. And that does not look good.
If you really think he betrayed America, you surely have to have both sides of the American aisle on board to get him out.
While America has seen the transcript of the Ukraine call, we've seen the whistleblower allegations and the testimony of acting Director of National Intelligence Joe Maguire. The evidence is out there. So let's see a vote in the House, but again, don't hold your breath.
One last point, if I may. If the speaker won't schedule an impeachment vote, surely the speaker could do us all a great favor and let the House vote on USMCA or prescription drug prices or infrastructure. Isn't that what Congress is supposed to be doing? You know, making all Americans better off?
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