Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday delivered a two-part message to her caucus just minutes before the start of the first public impeachment hearing — stressing the weight of the moment, but also a steadfast commitment to their legislative agenda.
The California Democrat spoke solemnly to her caucus and deployed her oft-repeated line: “None of us came here to impeach a president,” according to multiple lawmakers and aides in the room.
“This is a very serious event in our country. We wish it could have been avoided,” Pelosi told Democrats at the closed-door meeting, according to one attendee. “He must be held accountable, he is not above the law — no president is — and we have a responsibility to make sure that that is the message, not only for today, but for the ages.”
The mood of the caucus was largely sober, and at one point, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), who is a pastor, led members in an impromptu prayer.
“People recognize this is a very serious day for the country, for the caucus,” Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) said as he left the meeting and headed for the hearing room to watch the proceedings.
Pelosi’s overall message, according to Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), was, “basically, just how important this is to saving democracy.”
In the meeting, Pelosi recalled how she was recently asked by the Bloomberg editorial board how impeaching President Donald Trump could affect financial markets. Her answer, then, was that this was the United States of America, not the United States of markets.
Pelosi advised the caucus “not to get distracted” by potential GOP deflections during the hearings, and encouraged members to reiterate the narrative shaped by House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff — part of ongoing efforts to help Democrats present a united front against Trump.
“I do think that we need to have a common narrative,” she said, according to an attendee.
But Pelosi and her top deputies have also worked to keep the focus on their ambitious legislative agenda, with mixed success. A vote on Democrats’ signature bill to reduce drug prices has been delayed multiple times and is now expected to come to the floor in December. And senior Democrats insist they’re close to finishing negotiations on Trump’s new North American trade agreement, though rank-and-file lawmakers say they know little about the closely guarded talks.
Pelosi also told the caucus Wednesday about efforts to reauthorize the Export-Import bank, which helps finance loans for American products sold abroad. Afterward, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also brought up efforts to revive the hobbled agency.
“We didn’t come to Congress to impeach this president or any president. But duty requires we pursue this inquiry because no one is above the law,” Jeffries said, echoing Pelosi’s message in the caucus.
“We have a constitutional responsibility to serve as a check and balance on an out of control executive branch,” Jeffries added.
Democrats have carefully sought to balance the caucus’ fast-moving impeachment probe — with nearly a dozen witnesses appearing before Congress over the next two weeks — with the end-of-year legislative sprint that could be Congress’ last chance for major legislation before the 2020 presidential race consumes Washington.
The House is also still scrambling to complete must-do items, like averting a government shutdown before Thanksgiving, and checking off long-awaited caucus priorities, like Pelosi’s drug pricing bill or Trump’s trade deal that appeal to many moderate Democrats.
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Underscoring the significance of the hearings, Democratic leaders plan to postpone any floor votes until late Wednesday afternoon. Still, more than a dozen committee meetings and markups will be held at the same time as the hearing.
“I think it’s important for our business to move forward. We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-N.H.) said as she exited the caucus meeting and headed to an Energy and Commerce hearing on drug pricing.
“At the end of the day, it’s the American people that are the jury,” she said. “They’ll be in touch with us, our phones will be ringing off the hook.”