Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi asserted no member of Congress came to impeach President Trump during her speech on the House floor before the chamber started its vote on the impeachment inquiry.
"Sadly, this is not any cause for any glee or comfort. This is something that is very solemn, that is something prayerful. And that we had to gather so much information to take us to this next step. Again, this is a solemn occasion," Pelosi stated on Thursday.
"Nobody, I doubt anybody in this place, or anybody that you know, comes to Congress to take the oath of office, comes to Congress to impeach the president of the United States, unless his actions are jeopardizing our honoring our oath of office," she said.
Standing next to an image of the American flag, Pelosi pointed to it as a reason to vote for the impeachment inquiry resolution.
"What is at stake? What is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy. I proudly stand next to the flag, and I thank the gentleman from New York for providing it for us. This flag, so many have fought and died for this flag, which stands for our democracy," she said.
Recommended
Pelosi's statement has been undercut by some vocal members of Congress, such as Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
On the day Tlaib was sworn into office in January, she told her supporters at a party that the new Democratic majority will impeach Trump.
"And when your son looks at you and says, 'Mama look, you won. Bullies don't win,' and I said, 'Baby, they don't,' because we're gonna go in there and we're going to impeach the motherf****r," she said.