Just yesterday we were talking about the political pressure that’s been building on Speaker Nancy Pelosi from members of her caucus who are demanding impeachment proceedings against President Trump. Up until this point, Pelosi has wisely been resisting, likely knowing where that road ends. But last night the noisy Democrats appeared to have become too much for her to resist any longer. The Speaker has called a meeting this morning with Democratic leaders and the subject is impeachment. (Fox News)

A rapid-fire string of developments has congressional Democrats putting increased pressure on party brass to launch impeachment proceedings against President Trump, with one rank-and-file lawmaker reportedly saying the president is “raping the country” and others indicating it’s only a matter of time before leadership changes course on the politically fraught issue. Amid the internal tensions, Speaker Nancy Pelosi called a special meeting of House Democrats for Wednesday morning, where the impeachment issue and other battles are expected to be discussed. Prior meetings involving Pelosi and top Democrats held Monday evening escalated into heated exchanges, with the party torn over how to address Trump controversies — most recently, the decision to block the former White House counsel from testifying.

The congressman who came up with the line about Trump “raping the country” is reportedly Steve Cohen of Tennessee. (He was the one who pulled the fried chicken stunt recently.) I’m glad he’s been able to keep his cool and stick to a subtle approach. But will the rest of the pack be able to pressure Pelosi into changing her mind?

On a related note, I wonder if Justin Amash will be invited? True, he’s not a Democrat, but he did recently say “impeachment is a process and it’s one that should be begun.” Even setting aside the rather awkward wording, his intention seems fairly clear. The Democrats wouldn’t need any GOP votes to move forward if they can somehow get their entire caucus onboard, but it would at least give Pelosi the excuse to call it a “bipartisan initiative.”

Is it just me, or does anyone else picture Donald Trump sitting in the West Wing, rubbing his hands and just daring Pelosi to try it? If she really does start these proceedings, I’ll take a bite out of my fedora if Trump doesn’t tweet some variation of the phrase “bring it on.”

She may still stand her ground, but I’m getting the sense that Pelosi is getting ready to cave. As I mentioned yesterday, the Speaker is no doubt aware that any impeachment effort is going to fail in the end and it might just hand Donald Trump a second term while derailing the entire Democratic agenda until the next election. But if the drumbeats against her grow too loud, she could wind up losing the gavel at the hands of her own caucus. Not an enviable position for the top Democrat to be in, but hey… she asked for the job.