Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said Sunday that she hasn’t ruled out impeaching President Donald Trump or Attorney General William Barr if the administration attempts to confirm a Supreme Court justice during the upcoming lame-duck session of Congress if Joe Biden wins the 2020 election.
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Pelosi was asked by host George Stephanopoulos what might transpire if Democrats win control of the Senate and White House. Would the House file impeachment charges against Trump or Barr to forestall confirmation hearings for a replacement to fill the sit once occupied by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday from complications of pancreatic cancer? She replied:
“Well, we have our options. We have arrows in our quiver that I’m not about to discuss right now, but the fact is we have a big challenge in our country. This president has threatened to not even accept the results of the election with statements that he and his henchmen have made.”
The House Speaker added:
“So, right now, our main goal and I think Ruth Bader Ginsburg would want that to be, would be to protect the integrity of the election as we protect the American people from the coronavirus, and that’s — I have faith in the American people on this Sunday morning,”
Stephanopoulos followed up, asking the Speaker if she was not “ruling anything out?”
“Yeah. We have a responsibility. We’ve taken an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” she said. We have a responsibility to meet the needs of the American people. That is when we weigh the equities of protecting our democracy requires us to use every arrow in our quiver.”
However, Pelosi made it clear that Democrats will not shut the government down by delaying the upcoming continuing resolution to keep things running in the nation’s capital:
“None of us has any interest in shutting down government. That has such a harmful and painful impact on so many people in our country. So I would hope that we can just proceed with that. We’re not going to be shutting down government. I do hope, though, that the focus on health care and what it means in terms of the courts will have public opinion be of such magnitude that the Republicans will finally, finally address the coronavirus crisis.”
Democrats have also suggested they might expand the number of seats on the Supreme Court if Trump and Senate Republicans do manage to confirm a replacement for Ginsburg, adding anywhere from two to six new justices to counterbalance the influence of conservatives on the nation’s highest court.
Featured Image Via Screenshot
