Pelosi Gives the Go on Trump’s Impeachment Process
By Chris Carey
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that the House of Representatives will pursue impeachment proceedings of President Trump on Tuesday, September 24. This declaration follows recent developments regarding Trump’s dealings with the Ukraine, CBS News reports.
At 5:00 p.m. EST, Speaker Pelosi delivered a statement addressing President Trump’s communications with Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s President. According to a U.S. government agent, a conversation between Zelensky and Trump in July was alarming enough to file a whistleblower complaint.
According to the agent, President Trump asked President Zelensky to investigate Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden, and Biden’s son on claims of corruption. The whistleblower pointed to Trump withholding millions in military aid from the Ukraine only a week before the call between the heads of state.
“When you see the call, when you see the readout of the call, which I assume you’ll see at some point, that call was perfect. It couldn’t have been nicer,” said Trump.
Students on campus offer a number of different perspectives on the recent developments to the long history of talks regarding the impeachment of Trump.
“As a politics major, it is going to be very cool to see how it develops in D.C. I think at this point it is beyond a political issue,” said sophomore Megan Leibfreid. “We have to hold people accountable for their actions even if they’re in the highest office in the land.”
On the other hand, some students feel as though this is the latest in a long game between Pelosi and Trump.
“I don’t think it was a surprise, the Democrats have wanted to do this since November 8, 2016,” said sophomore history and Hispanic studies major, Nick Swanson. “I don’t think it’s going to work for them, it may lead to them losing the house, but I think it’s too bad it has come to this.”
The theme of this being an expected move for the House Democrats recurred in other student testimonies.
“I don’t find it surprising at all. I’ve seen it coming,” said sophomore computer science major, Greg Luque.
Democrats, both in the House and outside, have been up in arms about impeachment for a long time. Impeachment campaigns by influencers such as billionaire Tom Steyer have covered the air waves for months. Congressional leaders have faced constant pressure from constituents regarding a call for impeachment.
“The phones rang non-stop today of constituents asking about impeachment. The news of the President’s conversations with the Ukrainian President, seemed to act as one, in a long line of nails in the impeachment coffin,” said sophomore Jeremy Perillo who is a Congressional Intern. “People have a lot of passion and are angry at what has been going on. Hopefully this change in direction by congressional leadership will ease some constituents’ concerns.”
Pelosi’s statement Tuesday afternoon will surely shake the already tumultuous political discourse of the country. With ramifications for the upcoming 2020 presidential election, as well as the 2020 House elections, much lays on the line for the veteran speaker.
The next steps lie with the House Judiciary Committee which will determine the articles of impeachment necessary before the House votes on the impeachment motion.
