House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Thursday tried to put forth a solemn face, claiming she “very prayerfully and patriotically” came to “a decision to move forward with an impeachment inquiry of the president of the United States.”

“Last week we saw something that removed all doubt as to whether we should move forward,” Pelosi said, referring to Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “It’s a sad week for our country.”

Pelosi has figured out that Democrats will be better off if they come across as reluctantly and somberly trying to impeach Trump, but the party may have trouble presenting that image to voters in the days ahead, especially if some of its most ardent impeachment activists dominate the headlines.

Even before she was sworn in, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), as Breitbart News reported, told Jorge Ramos that it is a “no-brainer” that Trump should be impeached. Fellow “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) infamously said she wanted to “impeach the motherfucker” on her first day on the job. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) has been leading “impeach 45” chants since Trump entered the White House. And Rep. Al Green (D-TX) has insisted that Trump should be impeached for “bigotry.”

On Thursday, Pelosi said she is not taking this process “lightly” and claimed Democrats wanted a “fuller understanding of the facts” to “balance” their “responsibility to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States in a way that was not divisive” but “uniting.”