Pelosi, other female Democrats wear black to mark ‘somber’ Trump impeachment vote

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and a group of female Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday wore dark clothing on Capitol Hill to mark the House’s vote on articles of impeachment against President Trump.

Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), who was wearing a dark grey coat with black lapels, told The Hill that some female members of Congress typically wear red on Wednesdays to show solidarity with issues such as human trafficking and women’s heart health awareness.

But they decided to wear darker colors this week to mark the “somber” occasion, she said. 

Pelosi, Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, and Rep. Kendra Horn (D-Okla.), who represents a swing district, were among the lawmakers spotted on the Capitol wearing black. 

The Speaker told NBC News that she was “sad” about the day’s proceedings. 

Justice. Dignity. Solemnity. Sisterhood. #impeachment pic.twitter.com/oUJDRTRLWb

— Christine Pelosi (@sfpelosi) December 18, 2019

The move to sport dark clothing did not appear to be widely coordinated, however. Female Democratic lawmakers arrived in the House chamber wearing a variety of colors. 

Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko (Ariz.) also gave a forceful speech condemning impeachment while wearing a black coat. 

The Democratic-controlled House is prepared to vote on two articles of impeachment charging the president with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Nearly every House Democrat is expected to vote in favor of the articles, which would make Trump just the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. 

Ahead of the vote, Pelosi told her Democratic colleagues that they would be “derelict” in their duty if they did not vote to impeach Trump. The impeachment vote follows a House inquiry largely based on allegations that Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to announce investigations into his political rivals. 

Trump has repeatedly dismissed charges of wrongdoing.

In a scathing letter sent to Pelosi on Tuesday, the president accused Democrats of waging “nothing more than an illegal, partisan attempted coup.”

Cristina Marcos contributed to this report.