Tlaib’s remark draws unusually public corrections from some Democrats as Pelosi says ‘that is not the position of our caucus’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

On her first full day as one of the first two Muslim women in Congress, Rashida Tlaib experienced a media storm over her vow to impeach “the motherfucker” Donald Trump. The promise, made at an event the night before, drew plenty of political pushback from her Democratic colleagues in the House.

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“It’s been pretty intense,” the Michigan Democrat said.

Hours after Tlaib was sworn in as part of the history making class of freshmen that helped flip the House, she ran afoul of a widespread sense that Democrats should focus on healthcare and other policies rather than impeachment, at least until the conclusion of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference and links between Trump and Moscow.

“We’re gonna impeach the motherfucker,” Tlaib exclaimed during a Thursday night party hosted by the liberal group MoveOn. It was a striking coda to the Democrats’ ascendance to the House majority, and it sparked unusually public corrections.

“I disagree with what she said,” said Jerrold Nadler of New York, to CNN. Nadler is chair of the House judiciary committee, which would begin impeachment proceedings.

“It is too early to talk about that intelligently,” he said. “We have to follow the facts.”

Tlaib and her classmates have been celebrated for their promises to stand up to the powers that be. By rebuking one, more seasoned Democrats were effectively warning others.

“I think some of our new members probably don’t realize that you are always on, that when you are a member of Congress there’s always someone listening,” said Jan Schakowsky, of Illinois. She said she hoped Tlaib’s remarks were not news for long.

More than Tlaib’s profanity, it was her vow to impeach Trump that drew disapproval. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has warned the party it should focus on policies. Tlaib also spoke hours before leaders were headed to the White House to try to resolve the government shutdown.

Republicans pounced, questioning the Democrats’ priorities and Pelosi’s leadership. In a Rose Garden press conference, Trump – who is widely reported to swear freely in everyday meetings, including the one on Friday which produced no progress on the shutdown – said he “thought her comments were disgraceful. I think she dishonored herself and her family. I thought it was highly disrespectful to the United States of America.”

The president also claimed: “You can’t impeach somebody who is doing a great job.”

Pelosi rejected Tlaib’s profanity and her impeachment promise.

“That is not the position of the House Democratic caucus,” she said on MSNBC. “I don’t think we should make a big deal of it.”

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Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, served up a reminder to the new members that seniority rules in Congress.

“She’s a freshman,” Connolly said. “It’s her first day here. She went in front of an enthusiastic crowd of her supporters and it was red meat for them. She yielded to that temptation. I’m sure upon reflection she might choose other words to describe her feelings.”

Talk of impeachment is fueled by a handful of Democrats on the left who are pressuring Pelosi to pursue the issue. But proceedings appear unlikely. Even if the House advanced any articles of impeachment, a two-thirds-majority vote to convict Trump in the Republican-controlled Senate would seem out of the question, barring new revelations.

Tlaib was not the only freshman who got a lesson in how one comment can upend Capitol Hill.

“I am not talking about those things,” laughed Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, asked to respond to Tlaib’s remark. She said she was elected because she talked about preserving healthcare.

“I’m not going to tell anyone else what to do,” she said, “but certainly, I think, it would behoove all of us to really be working for the people.”