Trump allies aren't panicking over Nancy Pelosi's impeachment inquiry announcement
President Trump's allies aren't panicking over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's announcement of a formal impeachment inquiry against Mr. Trump. On the contrary, they appear to be welcoming the development.
Moments after Pelosi announced that the House would be launching a formal impeachment probe, the president's reelection campaign was already spinning out fundraising emails. Pelosi announced at 5 p.m. Tuesday that the House is officially launching an impeachment inquiry, following the administration's refusal to hand over a whistleblower complaint involving the president's interaction with a foreign leader.
"Democrats have officially paved the way for a @realDonaldTrump landslide victory," Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale tweeted. "The witch-hunt continues..."
Only hours earlier, the president said people around him said the impeachment push could be a positive thing for him, a theme that's long been echoed among his allies. There is some sense among those in the administration that they can turn impeachment to their advantage, giving fresh fodder for Mr. Trump to run against on the campaign trail. The president was already tweeting a video slamming Democrats soon after Pelosi's remarks.
"Nobody is panicking," a senior administration official said after Pelosi's announcement, theorizing that Pelosi is well aware the probe is "bad politics for the Democrats" and that's why she held off as long as possible.
Another senior administration official, asked if the White House would be staffing up for an impeachment inquiry, also seemed pleased by the impeachment inquiry.
"Do you mean in case they give Trump everything he desires and guarantee they lose the majority and make him the number one reality drama star again?" the senior administration official responded.
Another source close to the Trump campaign declared the impeachment move a political misstep.
"I can't believe she caved," the source close to the campaign said, believing that Pelosi gave into the progressive base's rallying cry for impeachment.
"Democrats will end up with egg on their face," that source added, predicting the impeachment push will "energize" the Trump base.
Mr. Trump responded to Pelosi's announcement with a flurry of tweets, including one with a favorite line "PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT" and another with a video montage of Democrats.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019
The Trump administration is releasing the transcript of Mr. Trump's call with Ukraine's president on Wednesday, although that call is only a portion of an anonymous whistleblower's complaint. The Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to call for the whistleblower complaint to be released to Congress. The acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, has refused to release the complaint to Congress. He is slated to testify before Congress on Thursday.
But Pelosi didn't call for the creation of a select committee on impeachment. Rather, the various Democratic-led House committees will continue their investigations into the president, presenting their information to the House Judiciary Committee to consider.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Pelosi's announcement makes "no difference" from what the House has already been doing.
"This election is over," McCarthy said. "I realize 2016 did not turn out the way Speaker Pelosi wanted it to happen, but she cannot change the laws of this Congress."
Major Garrett, Ben Tracy, Fin Gomez, Grace Lamb-Atkinson and Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.