Pence chief of staff says he’s ‘confident’ Pelosi will yield on articles of impeachment

Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short expressed confidence Sunday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will eventually send the House-passed articles of impeachment to the Senate without extracting concessions from the GOP-controlled upper chamber.

“We’re confident this position is untenable and she’s going to move it along,” Short told Fox’s Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.” “She will yield, there’s no way she can hold this position.”

{mosads}“The reality is that she said in the House that this president poses such a grave danger to the globe that we have to trample on his constitutional rights—we’re going to trample those rights to rush this through, and now we’re going to hold it up to demand a longer process in the Senate with more witnesses,” he added.

Pelosi has delayed sending the articles to the Senate for trial in order to push Republicans in the upper chamber to agree to what Democrats consider a fair trial. The move has drawn praise from within her own caucus but has been lambasted by Republicans who question why she is delaying the process after rushing to vote on the articles.

Wallace also asked Short whether Trump wanted a full trial in the Senate in which the White House would be allowed to call witnesses.

“He’s frustrated by what he finds to be a completely unreasonable impeachment so sure he’s frustrated by that but he’s also anxious to get not just acquitted but exonerated in the Senate. So sure he’s looking forward to his opportunity to have a fair trial in the Senate,” Short responded.

“Does a fair trial mean both sides call witnesses?” Wallace asked.

“When [Senate minority Leader Chuck] Schumer [D-N.Y.] says he wants the same proceedings that happened to [Bill] Clinton, I think that’s what we welcome too, he’s trying to change the rules and have a whole different process,” Short responded.