Dems will not impose Trump but will not be able to talk about it

House Democrats can not stop talking about Donald Trump's imputation, but they accuse all others of their plight.

The Democrats call Trump "no law" and "threat to democracy" all at once, then not to charge him and hit the media for asking the question. They are exasperated when Trump refuses to comply with subpoenas, claiming that he tries to "incite" them to challenge them, while refusing to do anything other than filing another complaint.. And party leaders repeatedly insist that Democrats can "walk and chew gum at the same time" – investigate Trump while putting forward their own legislative agenda – but there has not been much walking or chewing lately.

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"Because it really interests you and it's a very controversial subject, I think you tend to overestimate the status of the caucus," the House Majority Leader told reporters on Tuesday. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) About the dismissal. .

However, 15 minutes later, at the same press conference, Hoyer acknowledged that: the debate over the desirability of dismissing Trump dominates all discussions in the House Democratic Caucus and Capitol Hill.

"We're all talking about this, as you all talk about," Hoyer said.

It's their life right now, and the Democrats have not found a way out of their dilemma..

President Nancy Pelosi believes that impeachment is a bad idea without the support of the GOP – of which there is hardly any – but refuses to close it entirely, fearing that this would alienate the party's base. Other Democratic leaders, such as the majority whip in the House, Jim Clyburn, suggest that destitution is inevitable only one day to retreat the next day. Democrats' internal polls show that this is not a hot topic for voters, while for outside activists it is the only problem, a debate they believe will define the party for the years to come.

Pelosi's stance on grassroots democrats remains strong, and there is no indication that the democrat gap has undermined his position internally. Yet more than a quarter of his caucus – nearly 60 members – publicly supports the opening of a dismissal investigation against Trump. And this number is slowly increasing.

The challenge for Pelosi is whether she can keep her members in the line while Trump continues to challenge him, but challenges him to remove him. Republicans – and some Democrats – are convinced that the GOP will benefit or even bring it back to a majority. next year.

"It would be disastrous – and President Pelosi understood this – if we proceeded to the impeachment and we fail in the Senate, when people go to the polls. It will be a justification for Trump and it will help him in the last election, "said Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.).

Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) agreed, stating: "From the point of view of the finals, if we go forward and impunity [Trump] and the Senate does not find him guilty, so I think we helped his ability to win next year. "

The Democratic leaders are doing everything in their power to maintain Pelosi's "Investigate, not to impeach" line, which in fact contributes to the democrats' impeachment problem.

Representative Cheri Bustos of Illinois, chair of the House Democrats campaign group, announced new polls at a reunion of leaders Monday night, showing that Democrats still have a length of time. Advance on the generic ballot and voters are much more concerned about health care and jobs than removal, according to several sources.

Pelosi also tried to ease tensions in the caucus during a closed meeting on Tuesday morning, calling on lawmakers to respect the differing positions of their colleagues on the issue.

"Although we may have differences over the timing and how we should hold this president accountable, in my opinion, a criminal violation of the Constitution," Pelosi told members: "We must not because of the insistence of anyone to honor our oath of office. to protect and defend the United States Constitution ".

Pelosi sent a letter to his members later in the day urging them to focus on a different issue – health care – and plan events focused on the theme of Flag Day next weekend.

"To be successful, we must be fully prepared by the end of the week for what will happen on June 14 – Flag Day, a day when we will talk about freedom and justice for all," she said. written. "Access to health care is an important part of this freedom."

"The impeachment is not on the table. Removal is not excluded because we are gathering facts, "said House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, a member of the Judiciary Committee. That is why we will continue to fulfill our constitutional responsibilities in a thoughtful and responsible manner.

"We are at the beginning of the process, not in the middle or at the end," added Jeffries, although he noted "the overwhelming majority of the caucus" is not yet calling for removal. .

Democrats have passed several important courier bills, including the DREAM law on Tuesday, but nothing that will be considered by the GOP-controlled Senate.

But the faction in favor of impeachment in the democratic caucus, composed almost exclusively of democrats from safe districts, made its decision known. absolutely in moral terms, by making the duty of the president accountable.

"It's totally unacceptable, I think," not to attack Trump, said Rep. Jared Huffman, who represents a deep blue district in California. "I simply can not understand why anyone could say that even in the face of compelling and compelling offenses and damning evidence … we would refuse to do our job."

"I think there are three different groups," added Ruben representative Gallego (D-Ariz.). "Those who want to proceed to impeachment now; those who are willing to conduct an indictment investigation – that is what we are talking about, an indictment investigation – they simply want two other things to be locked , and a small but not very noisy minority who says, "No impeachment ever." "

Meanwhile, other members of the caucus belittle the reality of what they see as a path to the minority.

"I've heard enough about Mueller," said the former special advisor, Collin Peterson, a Minnesota Democrat representing a district Trump had won in 2016. "The fact is that the Senate is not going to take it, so what is it doing? "

First-year moderate, Jeff Van Drew (DN.J.), who said he spoke to Democratic leaders about trial and error in the impeachment debate, said that talking about impeachment is good but not must not dominate all conversations.

"We need people to say," Look, we have this thing here, but it's not the only thing by far, "Van Drew said," We have to do the work. "

But with Pelosi's refusal to extinguish the idea together, the debate that provokes a considerable break in the caucus will certainly last throughout the summer.

Mueller's appearance in front of the cameras last week attracted some high-level converts to deportation, though most Democrats in the House have returned to Washington in their previous positions.

"If I were in Trump's situation, of course, I would like an impeachment because it comes directly within the scope of my messages," said Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), Who predicts that more Democrats will join the campaign to oust Trump while praising Pelosi's decision not to dismiss him. "It became the concern of the [political] arena."

Laura Barrón-López and Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.