On Thursday morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi officially announced she will move forward with Democrat efforts to remove President Trump from office and called on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to draw up articles of impeachment for a vote.
"The President leaves us no choice but to act," Pelosi said. "Sadly, but with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our founders and a heart full of love for America, today I am asking our chairman to proceed with articles of impeachment."
"The president's actions have seriously violated the Constitution—especially when he says and acts upon the belief Article 2 says I can do whatever I want. No," she continued. "The president abused his power for his own personal political benefit at the expense of our national security."
The Speaker cited partisan hearings held by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and Nadler in recent weeks as reason to move forward. She also invoked God.
"Democrats too are prayerful and we will proceed in a manner worthy of our oath of office to support and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic, so help us God," she continued.
Earlier this year Pelosi said impeachment was too divisive for the country and should only proceed with bipartisan support, which she does not have.
"I'm not for impeachment," Pelosi told the Washington Post in March. "This is news. I'm going to give you some news right now because I haven't said this to any press person before. But since you asked, and I've been thinking about this: Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there's something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don't think we should go down that path, because it divides the country. And he's just not worth it."
The White House has already issued a response.
.@SpeakerPelosi & the Democrats should be ashamed. @realDonaldTrump has done nothing but lead our country - resulting in a booming economy, more jobs & a stronger military, to name just a few of his major accomplishments. ???? We look forward to a fair trial in the Senate.
— Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) December 5, 2019
A timeline of when the full House will take a vote on impeachment isn't yet known. If the vote gets as majority, impeachment will go to the Senate for a trial.
This is a breaking story, stay tuned for updates.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member