Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated Saturday that successfully pursuing impeachment of President Trump would be worth losing the Democrats’ House majority in 2020.
During an interview at Tribune Fest, hosted by the Texas Tribune, Pelosi argued that following Congress’ mandate to hold the president accountable is more important than politics.
{mosads}”Heading into the next election cycle, do you have any anxiety at all about any of the stuff we’re talking about…impacting your ability to hold control of the House in 2020?” Tribune CEO Evan Smith asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” Pelosi responded. “Our first responsibility is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
“People say you have to take a political risk doing that,” she continued. “That doesn’t matter. That doesn’t matter. Because we cannot have a president of the United States undermining his oath of office, his loyalty to his oath of office, undermining our national security, and undermining the integrity of our elections.”
Pelosi’s comments came as recent polls suggest public opinion turning favorably towards impeachment of the president, with a NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist survey finding 49 percent approval among American adults for impeachment, with 46 percent opposing the idea.
47 percent of respondents in a recent Hill-HarrisX poll also said they supported impeaching Trump, while 42 percent said they opposed it.
Democrats currently enjoy a 5-point lead on a generic House ballot, down from double digits last month, according to a Hill-HarrisX survey earlier in September.