Top Democrats are hesitant to link the i-word too closely to the upcoming resolution that would formalize the impeachment inquiry process.
Both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer have tamped down on calling it an “impeachment resolution” even as the move escalated the proceedings.
Rather, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Mr. Hoyer stressed that the resolution is still focused on the actual process of the investigation — not taking any tangible action against the president yet.
“We have an inquiry looking at whether articles of impeachment are justified by the facts,” the Maryland Democrat said. “This is about process as to when we move out of the investigatory phase — which we’ve been in — into the phase where we have public hearings.”
Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, announced Monday that Democrats would vote this week to formalize their month-old official impeachment inquiry. In addition to moving toward public hearings, the resolution is expected to authorize the disclosure of private deposition transcripts, sets due process rights for President Trump and loop in the House Judiciary Committee.
However, it’s now unclear whether the resolution will actually get a vote this week. The vote was expected for Thursday, before they leave for the weekend.
“We’re going to have to consider whether or not it’s ready to go on Thursday,” Mr. Hoyer told reporters on Monday.
The House Rules Committee has not yet publicly released the text of the resolution, and many members, including Mr. Hoyer himself, have yet to read the details.
Members of the Judiciary Committee were still unclear Tuesday morning as to how their panel, which has jurisdiction over impeachment, will play into the new phase of the proceedings.
Though, Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries expects that relationship to be ironed out by the time the resolution is released.
The impeachment inquiry is centered on allegations that Mr. Trump pressured his Ukrainian counterpart to open up investigations into a Democratic presidential front-runner, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, and his son Hunter.
The Ukraine investigations, which have been taking place behind closed-doors and led by the House Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees, have taken place at a rapid pace over the last few weeks.
On Tuesday, members are hearing from Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, a military officer with the National Security Council, who told lawmakers he was concerned about the July 25th phone call between Mr. Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky, where Mr. Trump mentioned investigating the Biden family’s connections to a corrupt Ukrainian business.
Meanwhile, Mr. Jeffries and Democratic Caucus Vice-Chair Kathrine Clark were defending the decision to move forward with holding a vote on the impeachment inquiry — arguing that it wouldn’t put their moderate members in a tough spot because most of the caucus was already on board with the inquiry.
“It seems to be that makes sense, in terms of holding a floor vote, because multiple committees are involved,” Mr. Jeffries said. “We’re going to proceed fairly, we’re going to proceed expeditiously, and we’re going to proceed comprehensively.”
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