Nearly all of the women in the House Democratic Caucus on Tuesday called for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to investigate allegations that President Trump engaged in sexual misconduct before winning the White House.
By late in the day, more than half of the 193-member Democratic caucus had gone on record as supporting a congressional probe into accusations against Trump that surfaced during the 2016 presidential race.
The push gave Democratic women another chance to flex their muscle, having already introduced legislation to overhaul Capitol Hill’s harassment policies and pushed to oust male colleagues accused of sexual harassment.
{mosads}House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) endorsed the effort against Trump.
“I don’t think that a person who has been a sexual harasser should be president of the United States but there is — hopefully the committee will do the investigation,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol.
The Republican chairman of the Oversight Committee, Rep. Trey Gowdy (S.C.), said he would not pursue such an investigation.
Gowdy acknowledged that the allegations outlined in the Democrats’ letter would amount to crimes and said he is sending a copy to the Justice Department, “albeit with the understanding the Department does not have jurisdiction over state law violations.”
“This Committee, nor any other Committee of Congress, does not, and cannot, prosecute crimes,” Gowdy wrote in a response to the letter, which was spearheaded by Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.). “Those alleging sexual assault or criminal sexual conduct deserve to be interviewed by law enforcement professionals, and charging decisions should be made by prosecutors based on the quantum and quality of the admissible and provable evidence.”
But the push served as a rallying cry for Democrats eager to demonstrate their intolerance for sexual harassment.
When asked if the Oversight Committee should prioritize investigating the allegations against Trump if Democrats win back the House next year, Frankel replied: “Yes.”
Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee who would likely become chairman if Democrats win the chamber next year, endorsed the push to investigate Trump.
“It is extremely hard for Republicans to argue that Congress should ignore these multiple allegations,” Cummings said in a statement.
Frankel pointed to the Whitewater probe during the Clinton administration as an example of Congress investigating allegations against presidents that occurred before they took office.
“ ‘Me Too’ is saying loud and clear that accusations of sexual abuse should be taken seriously,” said Frankel, the chair woman of the Democratic Women’s Working Group.
More than 50 Democratic men also signed on to the letter, bringing the total of signatories to more than 100 and counting.
The allegations against Trump have been gaining fresh attention in light of the sexual harassment scandals plaguing other politicians and media figures.
On Monday, three women who accused Trump of sexual misconduct during the campaign reemerged, calling on Congress to open an investigation into their allegations and those of at least 14 other women.
Trump has denied the allegations and insists he doesn’t know the accusers.
“Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia — so now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS!” Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning.
People magazine on Tuesday responded by publishing a photo of him with Natasha Stoynoff, who alleged that Trump pushed her against a wall and forcibly kissed her.
Trump also went after Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who called on him to resign over the sexual misconduct allegations. He tweeted that Gillibrand “would come to my office ‘begging’ for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them),” which Democrats interpreted as sexual innuendo.
“You cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak out about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office,” Gillibrand tweeted back.
With sexual misconduct accusations mounting against their own colleagues, the female lawmakers argued that Trump shouldn’t be exempt from scrutiny.
In the last week alone, three men — Reps. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) — have resigned or announced their resignation from Congress due to allegations of sexual harassment.
Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly sexually harassing a female staffer, while Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.) is accused of sexually harassing a female aide who worked on his 2016 campaign.
Female Democrats got ahead of their own leadership in demanding that Conyers and Franken resign. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), who signed Tuesday’s letter, was the first Democrat to urge Conyers to resign, while a group of female Senate Democrats were the first to push Franken out.
“We cannot ignore the multitude of women who have come forward with accusations against Mr. Trump. With that said, the president should be allowed to present evidence in his own defense,” the Democrats wrote in the letter.