Ms. Pelosi is seeking to pressure Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, over the terms of the trial. But she also risks appearing to politicize a process that she has presented as a somber constitutional duty.

Some Democrats have suggested the possibility of denying Mr. Trump the chance to clear his name by never sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate. Mr. McConnell’s response: “Fine with me!”

What’s next: House lawmakers left Washington on Thursday for a two-week recess, so the dispute is unlikely to be resolved until the new year.

Closer look: Mr. Trump and his re-election campaign have embraced the challenge of convincing voters that he is right and his accusers are wrong.

Related: Christianity Today, an evangelical magazine, called for Mr. Trump to be removed from office, the most notable dissent to date from the religious conservative base that has long supported him. (Read its editorial here.)