Heading Into Long Recess, House Democrats Take Home a Mixed Record

“There is a lot of frustration on impeachment, because basically, Trump and the Republicans have a very clear message, which is, ‘Full exoneration, no collusion, no obstruction, witch hunt,’ and the Democratic response is, ‘Well, we’re looking into it; we need more evidence; we’ll see,’” said Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, a grass-roots network of progressive activists. “It looks weak, because it is weak.”

Indivisible activists will also be attending town hall-style meetings and other events in August to urge Democrats to support impeachment, he said. “They’re going to hear that this is the issue of the day, and we expect you to take a stand.”

Despite the outside pressure and bickering inside her ranks, Ms. Pelosi has kept Democrats together on critical issues and maintained an impressive productivity, churning out bill after marquee bill that Democrats can point to in their quest to offer a different approach from Republicans.

“Will voters at the end of the day, in 18 months, give them credit for trying to do a lot of stuff that the Senate’s stopped? The jury’s out — we’ll see,” said Steve Elmendorf, a lobbyist who is a former senior aide to Ms. Pelosi. “But the good thing for the freshmen and the people in Trump districts is they have something to say, they have a message, they have things they are trying to do.”

“She, every week, puts up 218 votes on a lot of things, and that’s what matters,” Mr. Elmendorf said of the speaker.

Ms. Pelosi and Democratic leaders have gone to great lengths in recent weeks to defuse conflicts in their ranks and present a united front. Mr. Trump himself helped facilitate that after he denounced Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, and three other lawmakers of color, prompting the vote on the racism resolution.

On Thursday, House leaders abruptly canceled action on a measure to toughen oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, rather than risk a potentially divisive vote before their recess, which might distract from the striking unity of recent successes. On Friday morning, Ms. Pelosi made a public show of locking arms with Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, with whom she has clashed this month, after a one-on-one meeting called to calm the tensions.

Source link