Hope’s reversal came after a tense phone call Sunday night with his Democratic colleagues, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the call. Other lawmakers raised concerns that Hope had announced his plan Friday without consulting them first. Some Democrats had already said publicly that they felt it would be inappropriate to begin an impeachment process based solely on allegations that Fairfax has adamantly denied.

“I believe it was well-intended,” Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, the chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, said of Hope’s effort. “But we need to explore other avenues to getting that investigation.”

Several lawmakers have raised questions about how a General Assembly probe would work procedurally and legally. The legislature is not set up as an investigative body, and it’s not clear if lawmakers would have the ability to compel testimony and evidence about events that didn’t happen in Virginia.

Fairfax’s office had voiced skepticism about a legislative investigation. A Fairfax spokeswoman said the lieutenant governor “believes that an inherently political process is not the most likely path for learning the truth.”