Nancy Pelosi strikes back

| 11:00 pm EST January 12, 2020
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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is still holding all the cards when it comes to impeachment. In case Donald Trump’s panicked meltdown about his Senate impeachment trial and Mitch McConnell’s ever-changing narrative about the trial aren’t enough evidence that Pelosi is the only one with any leverage here, Pelosi herself decided to remind everyone today of how things really stand.

Nancy Pelosi appeared on ABC This Week this morning, amid growing buzz that she’s preparing to send the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate this upcoming week. She was asked if she’ll consider subpoenaing witnesses like John Bolton herself, if the Senate fails to call the witnesses. Her response: “we’ll see what they do.” She was asked if she’s going to impeach Trump again on new charges. Her answer: “Let’s just see what the Senate does.”

In other words, Mitch McConnell now has to take his best guess about what kind of Senate impeachment trial might end up being the least damaging to Republican Senators’ chances in 2020, without knowing what Nancy Pelosi might do in response. Pelosi gets to wait until McConnell commits himself to a certain path with the trial, and then she gets to respond in any way she wants.

It’s easy to see why Nancy Pelosi is the one with the leverage on impeachment. She still has to play her cards right – but at least she has cards to play. Mitch McConnell is increasingly boxed in, and at this point Donald Trump is just a pawn in all of this.