Washington: The impeachment fight in Washington has descended into personal bickering between Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump, with the House Speaker declaring the President a "coward" and Trump accusing her of having a "nervous fit".

Just hours after announcing she had instructed the House Judiciary Committee to draft articles of impeachment against the President, the usually calm Pelosi lashed out at a reporter for asking whether she hated Trump.

Pelosi was leaving her weekly news conference when the reporter from the conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group asked: "Do you hate the President?"

Pelosi instantly turned around and pointed her finger at the reporter before returning to the lectern.