Pelosi: House would be ‘delinquent’ if it didn’t impeach Trump

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that the House would be “delinquent” if it does not impeach President Trump after two articles of impeachment against the president were introduced earlier in the day. 

“I wish the president’s actions did not make it necessary, but he did, and we would be delinquent in honoring our oath of office if we did not impeach him for not honoring his oath of office,” Pelosi said during Politico’s Women Rule summit. 

“We do this with great sadness, prayerfully, somberly,” she added. “If we allow one president, any president, no matter who she or he may be, to go down this path, we are saying ‘goodbye’ to the republic and ‘hello’ to a president-king.”

The top Democrat also emphasized that the move was about the constitution, not politics.

“If we believe that our constitution is being violated, that our very Democracy is at stake … what are we there for?” Pelosi said. “We take an oath to protect and defend. If we did not do that, we would be again, delinquent in our duties. So this isn’t about elections. It’s about the constitution.”

House Democrats on Tuesday introduced two articles of impeachment against Trump, alleging that the president abused power in his dealings with Ukraine and obstructed Congress during its impeachment inquiry.

The move follows weeks of public and closed-door testimony from witnesses, some of whom claimed that Trump engaged in a quid pro quo with Ukraine over investigations would benefit him politically.

Trump reacted to the accusations in a series of tweets Tuesday. He called the impeachment process a “witch hunt” and also went after two of the Democratic lawmakers who led the proceedings.