Taliban Cartoons

US opens first round of resurrected peace talks with Taliban

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad held on Saturday the first official talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban since President Donald Trump declared a near-certain peace deal with the insurgents dead in September.

The talks will initially focus on getting a Taliban promise to reduce violence, with a permanent cease-fire being the eventual goal, said a U.S. statement. Khalilzad is also trying to lay the groundwork for negotiations between Afghans on both sides of the protracted conflict.

The meetings being held in the Middle Eastern State of Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office, follow several days of talks in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, where Khalilzad met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

The Taliban have so far refused direct talks with Ghani calling him a U.S. puppet.

Ghani leads the Afghan government with Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah in a power-sharing agreement brokered by the United States after the presidential elections in 2014 were so deeply mired in corruption that a clear winner could not be determined.

To head off a conflict Washington stepped in and forced the two leading candidates — Ghani and Abdullah — to share power in a so-called Unity Government that has been largely paralyzed because of the relentless bickering between the two leaders.

The Afghan government is now embroiled in a fresh elections standoff. Presidential polls on Sept. 28 again ended in accusations of misconduct, with no results yet announced.

Repeat leading contender Abdullah has challenged the recounting of several hundred thousand ballots, accusing his opponent Ghani of trying to manipulate the tally.

Meanwhile, Khalilzad’s return to his peace mission followed Trump’s surprise Thanksgiving Day visit to Afghanistan in which he said talks with the Taliban were back on.

While Khalilzad is talking to the Taliban about reducing violence, the U.S. military in its daily report said overnight on Saturday U.S. airstrikes killed 37 Taliban and operations by the Afghan National Security Forces killed another 22 of the militants.

The insurgents have continued to carry put near daily strikes against military outposts throughout the country. They now hold sway over nearly half of Afghanistan.

Trump has expressed frustration with America’s longest war repeatedly saying he wants to bring the estimated 12,000 U.S. soldiers home and calling on Afghanistan’s own police and military to step up. The Afghan government has also been criticized for its relentless corruption.

Haley: Killer ‘hijacked’ Confederate flag meaning for some

 

FILE - In this Monday, March 25, 2019 file photo, Former Ambassador to the U.N Nikki Haley speaks at the 2019 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says in an interview that a man who gunned down nine worshipers at an African American church in 2015 ‘hijacked’ the ideals many connected to the Confederate battle flag. Haley said that the flag had meant service, sacrifice and heritage to some. 

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said in an interview that a man who gunned down nine worshipers at an African American church in 2015 “hijacked” the ideals many connected to the Confederate battle flag.

Haley told conservative political commentator and Blaze TV host Glenn Beck that the flag had meant “service, and sacrifice and heritage” to some. An interview excerpt on social media Friday drew criticism from many who said the flag represents treason and racial hatred.

As governor, following the murders at the church in Charleston, Haley openly backed removal of the flag that had flown over the South Carolina Statehouse.

In the Beck interview, Haley, a former United Nations ambassador for President Donald Trump, praised the people who were murdered by Dylan Roof as “amazing people” who loved their church and community. Then she discussed Roof, an avowed white supremacist who, following the killings, was seen in photos with the flag.

“And here is this guy that comes out with this manifesto holding the Confederate flag, and had just hijacked everything that people thought of — and we don’t have hateful people in South Carolina. There’s always the small minority that’s always going to be there. But, people saw it as service and sacrifice and heritage. But once he did that, there was no way to overcome it,” Haley said.

Critics included state Sen. Marlon Kimpson. “I find these comments ignorant of history and the facts,” he said on Twitter.

Friday afternoon, Haley posted a tweet saying she stands by her 2015 call to remove the flag. She included a link to her 2015 remarks backing removal of the flag, saying it was revered by many in the state, while many consider it “a deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past.”

PG&E says it has reached $13.5 billion wildfire settlement

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pacific Gas and Electric announced Friday it has reached a tentative $13.5 billion settlement resolving all major claims related to the deadly, devastating Northern California wildfires of 2017-2018 that were blamed on its outdated equipment and negligence.

The utility says the deal, which still requires court approval, represents a key step in leading it out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The deal is expected to resolve all claims arising from a series of deadly 2017 Northern California wildfires and the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and all but incinerated the town of Paradise. It also resolves claims from the 2015 Butte Fire and Oakland’s 2016 Ghost Ship Fire.

“From the beginning of the Chapter 11 process, getting wildfire victims fairly compensated, especially the individuals, has been our primary goal,” Bill Johnson, PG&E Corporation’s CEO and president, said in a statement Friday. “We want to help our customers, our neighbors and our friends in those impacted areas recover and rebuild after these tragic wildfires.”

In most cases the 2017 and 2018 fires were blamed on power lines, and two attorneys representing more than 5,000 Northern California fire victims hailed the settlement.

“I think it’s a fantastic result,” said attorney Rich Bridgford of Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian, adding it will not only compensate thousands of devastated fire victims but also require PG&E to put billions into overhauling its infrastructure to prevent future disasters.

“You have to be mindful of the fact that PG&E is in bankruptcy,” he added. “This means they are required to perform a delicate balancing act aimed at achieving dual goals of deterring bad past behavior on the one hand and on the other hand keeping the utility financially viable so that it can function and keep power flowing. We believe the settlement achieves this delicate balance.”

The 2018 Camp Fire was California’s deadliest and destroyed nearly 18,000 structures. The series of wildfires that spread across a wide stretch of Northern California in 2017 killed dozens and burned tens of thousands of structures.

“The goal of the litigation from the very beginning has been to change their behavior, and that is their lack of safety standards and the way they manage and maintain their equipment,” attorney James Frantz said of PG&E.

The settlement is still subject to a number of conditions involving PG&E’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plans, which must be completed by June 30, 2020.

Friday’s proposal responds to pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom to give wildfire victims more than the utility originally offered, but it still relies on the bankruptcy judge’s approval as part of the proceedings. A February hearing at which an official estimation of losses will be made still looms for the utility and could upend any settlement deals.

“We appreciate all the hard work by many stakeholders that went into reaching this agreement,” PG&E’s Johnson said. “With this important milestone now accomplished, we are focused on emerging from Chapter 11 as the utility of the future that our customers and communities expect and deserve.”

PG&E said the proposed settlement is the third it has reached as it works through its Chapter 11 case. The utility previously reached a $1 billion settlement with cities, counties and other public utilities and an $11 billion agreement with insurance companies and other entities that have paid claims relating to the 2017 and 2018 fires.

Iran frees Chinese-American scholar for US-held scientist

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran and the U.S. conducted a prisoner exchange Saturday that saw a detained Princeton scholar released for an Iranian scientist held by America, marking a rare diplomatic breakthrough between Tehran and Washington after months of tensions.

In a trade conducted in Zurich, Switzerland, Iranian officials handed over Chinese-American graduate student Xiyue Wang, detained in Tehran since 2016, for scientist Massoud Soleimani, who had faced a federal trial in Georgia.

While the exchange represents a rare win for both countries, it comes as Iran still faces crushing American sanctions and the aftermath of nationwide protests that reportedly saw over 200 people killed. Meanwhile, Western detainees from the U.S. and elsewhere remain held by Tehran. They are likely to be used as bargaining chips for future negotiations amid Iran’s unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.

Wang’s release had been rumored over recent days, with one lawyer involved in his case tweeting out a Bible verse about an angel freeing the apostle Peter just hours before Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif broke the news in his own tweet.

“Glad that Professor Massoud Soleimani and Mr. Xiyue Wang will be joining their families shortly,” Zarif wrote. “Many thanks to all engaged, particularly the Swiss government.”

President Donald Trump shortly after acknowledged Wang was free in a statement from the White House, saying the Princeton scholar would be “returning to the United States.”

“Mr. Wang had been held under the pretense of espionage since August 2016,” Trump said. “We thank our Swiss partners for their assistance in negotiating Mr. Wang’s release with Iran.”

The Swiss Embassy in Tehran looks out for America’s interests in the country as the U.S. Embassy there has been closed since the 1979 student takeover and 444-day hostage crisis.

Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, accompanied the Iranian scientist Soleimani to Switzerland to make the exchange and will return with Wang, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity as the information had yet to be released. Hook and Wang were en route to Landstuhl hospital at Ramstein Air Base in Germany where Wang will be examined by doctors, the official said. Hook is expected to return to the U.S. from Germany alone, as Wang is expected to be evaluated for several days.

Although Hook was present for the swap, the official said Trump’s national security adviser Robert O’Brien played the lead role in the negotiations dating from his time as the special representative for hostage affairs at the State Department.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency later reported that Soleimani was with Iranian officials in Switzerland. Soleimani was expected to return to Iran in the coming hours. Zarif later posted pictures of himself on Twitter with Soleimani in front of an Iranian government jet and later with the two talking on board.

Wang was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Iran for allegedly “infiltrating” the country and sending confidential material abroad. His family and Princeton University strongly denied the claims. Wang was arrested while conducting research on the Qajar dynasty that once ruled Iran for his doctorate in late 19th and early 20th century Eurasian history, according to Princeton.

Hua Qu, the wife of Xiyue Wang, released a statement saying “our family is complete once again.”

“Our son Shaofan and I have waited three long years for this day and it’s hard to express in words how excited we are to be reunited with Xiyue,” she said. “We are thankful to everyone who helped make this happen.”

Princeton University spokesman Ben Chang said the school was aware of Wang’s release.

“We are working with the family and government officials to facilitate his return to the United States,” Chang said.

Iran’s Revolutionary Court tried Wang. That court typically handles espionage cases and others involving smuggling, blasphemy and attempts to overthrow its Islamic government. Westerners and Iranian dual nationals with ties to the West often find themselves tried and convicted in closed-door trials in these courts, only later to be used as bargaining chips in negotiations.

Soleimani — who works in stem cell research, hematology and regenerative medicine — was arrested by U.S. authorities on charges he had violated trade sanctions by trying to have biological material brought to Iran. He and his lawyers maintain his innocence, saying he seized on a former student’s plans to travel from the U.S. to Iran in September 2016 as a chance to get recombinant proteins used in his research for a fraction of the price he’d pay at home.

Tensions have been high between Iran and the U.S. since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in May 2018. In the time since, the U.S. has imposed harsh sanctions on Iran’s economy. There also have been a series of attacks across the Mideast that the U.S. blames on Iran.

Zarif in September said in an interview with NPR that he had pushed for an exchange of Wang for Soleimani.

“I have offered to exchange them, because as foreign minister I cannot go to our court and simply tell them, ‘Release this man,’” Zarif said then. “I can go to the court and tell them, ‘I can exchange this man for an Iranian,’ and then ... have a legal standing in the court.”

However, it remains unclear whether this exchange will have a wider effect on Iranian-U.S. relations. Iran has accused the U.S. without evidence of being behind the mid-November protests over gasoline prices. Meanwhile, the U.S. has said it seized Iranian missiles bound for Yemen, where Tehran backs rebel forces there that have been fighting a yearslong war with Saudi Arabia. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ruled out direct talks between the nations.

In June, Iran released Nizar Zakka, a U.S. permanent resident from Lebanon who advocated for internet freedom and has done work for the U.S. government. The U.S. deported Iranian Negar Ghodskani in September, who had been brought from Australia and later sentenced to time served for conspiracy to illegally export restricted technology from the U.S. to Iran.

Other Americans held in Iran include the octogenarian businessman Baquer Namazi who has been held for over two years and diagnosed with epilepsy.

Both Baquer Namazi and his son Siamak Namazi, also a dual national who has been held for over three years, are serving a 10-year sentence after they were convicted of collaborating with a hostile power.

An Iranian-American art dealer Karan Vafadari and his Iranian wife, Afarin Neyssari, received 27-year and 16-year prison sentences, respectively. Also held is U.S. Navy veteran Michael White, who is serving a 10-year sentence.

Former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished in Iran in 2007 while on an unauthorized CIA mission, remains missing as well. Iran says that Levinson is not in the country and that it has no further information about him, but his family holds Tehran responsible for his disappearance.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, while saying Wang would soon be able to go home to his family, acknowledged other Americans remain held by Iran.

“The United States will not rest until we bring every American detained in Iran and around the world back home to their loved ones,” Pompeo said in a statement.

___

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Squad members oppose Israeli-Palestinian 'two-state solution' resolution, aligning with GOP

The U.S. House approved a Democrat-backed resolution Friday calling for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- but did so without support from the four far-left freshmen congresswomen known as "the Squad."
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a Squad member and the first Palestinian-American elected to Congress, equated the Mideast plan to the racial segregation previously carried out in the U.S. under the “separate but equal” legal doctrine before the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
"This resolution not only endorses an unrealistic, unattainable solution, one that Israel has made impossible," Tlaib said, "but also one that legitimatizes inequality, ethnic discrimination, and inhumane conditions. Israel's nation-state law, which states that only Jews have the right to self-determination, has eliminated the political rights of the Palestinian people and effectively made them second-class citizens."
Squad member Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota congresswoman, also opposed the plan in Twitter messages posted Friday.
"We are told to swallow these changes in the name of 'pragmatism,'" Omar wrote in one message. "But there is nothing 'pragmatic' about a vote that makes peace unachievable."
Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said U.S. House Resolution 326 was a “restatement of America’s policy.”
“There are few alliances as critical to America as the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Hoyer told the House floor. “The resolution on the Floor reaffirms Congress’s strong support for this relationship while contributing positively to helping Israel achieve the peace and security it seeks with Palestinians.
A Jewish member of Congress -- Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. -- told the Jerusalem Post:
"For more than 20 years American presidents from both political parties and Israeli prime ministers have supported reaching a two-state solution that establishes a democratic Palestinian state to coexist peacefully and constructively side-by-side with a democratic Israel."
The passage of the bill reflected growing opposition among mainsteam U.S. Democrats to the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose plan to annex the West Bank prompted the passage of the U.S. resolution, which opposed the move.
Netanyahu had discussed his annexation plan with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier in the week in Portugal, Haaretz reported.
The resolution also opposed any Palestinian efforts to achieve statehood that don't involve talks with Israel, and also reaffirmed that U.S. military aid to Israel would continue, the Haaretz report said.
U.S. House Resolution 326 passed on a 226-188 vote.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi Cartoons

China waiving tariff hikes on US soybeans, pork

China is waiving punitive tariffs on U.S. soybeans and pork while the two sides negotiate a trade deal, the Ministry of Finance said Friday.

Beijing promised in September to lift the tariffs, adding to conciliatory steps that raised hopes for a settlement. The government announced then that Chinese importers were placing orders but no details of when the tariff exemption would take effect were released.

China is “carrying out the exclusion,” the Ministry of Finance said on its website. The ministry and the Ministry of Commerce did not respond to requests for further information.

Negotiators are working on the details of a “Phase 1” agreement announced in October by President Donald Trump.

The two sides have raised tariffs on billions of dollars of each other’s goods, disrupting global trade and threatening to depress economic growth.

Another U.S. tariff hike on an additional $160 billion of Chinese imports is due to take effect Dec. 15.

Chinese spokespeople have expressed hope for a settlement “as soon as possible,” but Trump spooked global financial markets this week by saying he might be willing to wait until after the U.S. presidential election late next year.

A sticking point is Chinese insistence that Washington must roll back punitive tariffs as part of any deal.

A Chinese spokesman repeated Thursday that Beijing expects such a move in a “Phase 1” agreement.

Pelosi, Biden lose their cool as impeachment battle intensifies

Nancy Pelosi reacts when asked if she hates President Trump then says she prays for him after calling Trump a

Nancy Pelosi was calm and controlled, almost scripted, as she announced—to no one’s surprise—that the House will begin drafting articles of impeachment.
Then a reporter got under her skin.
And she let loose, against President Trump and the journalist.
It was a rare spontaneous moment in what has increasingly seemed an orchestrated kabuki dance. In fact, Trump now wants to speed up the performance.
“If you are going to impeach me, do it now, fast, so we can have a fair trial in the Senate, and so that our Country can get back to business,” the president tweeted.
He also accused the Democrats of trying to impeach him “over NOTHING.”
The Twitter comments made clear that Trump, like just about everyone else, now fully expects the House Democrats to impeach him. The only remaining questions are the timing (the Dems are hellbent on finishing before Christmas) and the scope (stick with Ukraine or throw the kitchen sink into the actual articles).
Pelosi had taken the rhetorical high road, announcing the next steps on impeachment “with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our founders and a heart full of love for America.” She also made these points at a news conference before walking off.
Some reporters shouted questions, which is customary, and the House speaker suddenly stopped in her tracks.
James Rosen, the former Fox News correspondent now with Sinclair Television, was asking: “Do you hate the president, Madam Speaker? Because Representative Collins…”
Pelosi snapped back: “I don’t hate anybody.”
ROSEN: Representative Collins –
PELOSI: I was raised Catholic—
ROSEN: The reason I ask is…
PELOSI: I don’t hate anybody in the world. Don’t you accuse me—
ROSEN: I did not accuse you—
PELOSI: You did. You did.
ROSEN: I asked a question.
PELOSI: You did.
Rosen finally got out his question about the Judiciary panel’s ranking Republican: “Representative Collins yesterday suggested that the Democrats are doing this simply because they don’t like the guy.”
Pelosi, walking back to the podium, unloaded on Trump as a “coward” for his handling of gun violence and the dreamers. Then she said: “As a Catholic, I resent your using the word hate in a sentence that addresses me. I don’t hate anyone. I was raised in a way that is a heart full of love and always pray for the president. And I still pray for the president. I pray for the president all the time. So don’t mess with me when it comes to words like that.”
With that, Pelosi completely obscured everything she’d said before.
I wouldn’t have asked the original question like that, using “hate,” but her reaction was totally out of proportion to the query, in which Rosen was attempting to quote a GOP congressman. They had tangled a couple of weeks ago, when Pelosi responded to a politely phrased question by calling Rosen “Mr. Republican Talking Point.”
Trump later chimed in with his review: “Nancy Pelosi just had a nervous fit.”
Emotions are clearly rising in this impeachment mess. Kevin McCarthy unloaded on Pelosi at a presser after hers.
Some liberals have been slamming law professor Jonathan Turley for testifying against impeachment--he's been inundated with threatening messages and demands that George Washington University fire him. Turley had testified before the same panel in favor of impeaching Bill Clinton.
Some conservatives have been skewering pro-impeachment professor Pamela Karlan for stupidly doing a play on words involving Barron Trump’s name, opening herself up to attack (from Melania, among others) that she was dragging the president’s son into the public arena.
Joe Biden went off on a voter who challenged him on Ukraine and his son Hunter, calling the guy a “damn liar” and challenging him to a pushup contest as well as an “IQ test.”
It’s as if the impeachment battle is polluting an already toxic political atmosphere as we hurtle toward the inevitable outcome that everyone already expects.

Does Pelosi have the votes for impeachment?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for House Democrats to "proceed with articles of impeachment" against President Trump, but questions remain over whether she has secured enough Democrats to vote for impeachment as the effort barrels forward at breakneck speed.
Pelosi, during her televised remarks about impeachment on Thursday, did not suggest any particular timeline for a vote, saying only, "We will proceed in a manner worthy of our oath of office."
The timing of such a vote could be indicative of whether Pelosi has enough Democrats to vote to impeach: Pelosi is a master at reading her caucus. If she has the votes, she’ll likely give the green light to impeach on the floor. If she doesn’t have the votes, impeachment could wait -- conceivably until the New Year.
A major milepost, though, could come at 5 p.m. Friday: Democrats have said the Trump administration has until the close of business to decide if it will cooperate with the investigation or try to defend the president. If the administration says it’s willing to play, then impeachment could stretch out a bit. If not, Democrats may operate under a compressed timeframe.
"This is a hard vote to make one way or the other," Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-N.J., who opposed the inquiry before it began and remains skeptical of the impeachment efforts, told reporters Thursday.
A simple majority -- 216 of 431 members -- is needed to impeach. There are 233 Democrats, meaning that presuming anti-Trump independent Rep. Justin Amash backs impeachment, Democrats can lose 18 of their own and still impeach the president
A member of Pelosi’s leadership team told Fox News this week that the backlog of bills up this month in the House “works against” a December impeachment vote, explaining that impeachment “doesn’t fit the holiday spirit.”
Van Drew was one of just two Democrats who opposed the inquiry, alongside Minnesota's Collin Peterson, but Republicans are hoping that the 31 Democrats from districts that supported Trump in 2016 could be the key to defeating the impeachment effort.
Sensing a possible opening, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has ramped up the pressure on these Democrats in pro-Trump districts. As reported by The Daily Caller, the RNC is running ads urging voters to pick a lawmaker who “won’t waste taxpayer $$$ on partisan impeachment.”
Wall Street Journal Editorial Page Deputy Editor Dan Henninger told Fox News that some of these 31 Democrats are "really reluctant to take this vote," especially at this point in time.
"Do those Democrats really want a vote on virtually Christmas Eve?" he asked.
Henninger predicted that an impeachment trial could go into February. Not only could that slow down the momentum Democrats have built with the swift pace of the inquiry in recent weeks, it also places a burden on senators who will be in the thick of the presidential primary season. The Iowa caucuses are set for Feb. 3, with the New Hampshire primary Feb. 11, and contests in Nevada and South Carolina later that month.
While Democrats may use impeachment as an anti-Trump talking point on the campaign trail, candidates -- including Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Michael Bennet, D-Col. -- could end up spending valuable days of the primary season torn between their campaigns and a Senate trial should Trump actually be impeached.
An impeachment trial at that stage of the game would put the senators at a disadvantage, while candidates such as South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Vice President Joe Biden and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg would be free to continue their efforts.
"This impeachment is beginning to overwhelm the real politics that the Democrats should be interested in," Henninger said, "which is trying to get themselves a presidential nominee."
On Thursday, Pelosi delivered a statement urging House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., to proceed with impeachment after a hearing a day earlier featured constitutional scholars presenting arguments for and against it.
“The president leaves us no choice but to act, because he is trying to corrupt, once again, the election for his own benefit," Pelosi said regarding Trump's request to have Ukraine announce an investigation of Biden and his son Hunter.
Amid the impeachment effort, lawmakers also have to deal with a looming government shutdown that could take effect Dec. 20 unless Congress passes spending legislation to avoid it. With just over two weeks to do so -- and holidays coming soon after -- impeachment could find itself on the House's back burner until the new year.
During a press conference in the hours following her impeachment announcement, Pelosi fielded a question about the timeline of the impeachment process, stating that "we feel comfortable with all of the time that has gone into this." She pointed out that it has been two and a half years since Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel "and all that has transpired since then."
Following Pelosi's announcement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., took Democrats to task for not putting pressing legislative matters ahead of impeachment.
"We've argued that American families deserve better than this partisan paralysis where Democrats literally obsess over impeachment and obstruct everything else," McConnell said on the Senate floor. "This very morning, for example, the Speaker gave a speech on national television to push forward her rushed and partisan impeachment. Not one word, not one word on the outstanding legislation the American people actually need. Nothing on USMCA or the NDAA or funding for our armed forces. It's all impeachment, all the time."
Pelosi responded to this during a news conference in the hours following her impeachment announcement by stating, "No, we have 275 bipartisan bills on your desk."
Senior House leadership sources have acknowledged to Fox News that they think it would be a challenge to have a proper debate and rush articles of impeachment through the Judiciary Committee and to the House floor before Christmas, while also working to avoid a shutdown. Pelosi indicated Thursday that the House has a number of bills on the agenda in the coming week, pointing to bills including legislation dealing with insider trading and voting rights.
"It's too complex," a senior member of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's leadership team told Fox News earlier this week.
That complexity could be increased by the need to carefully draft articles of impeachment that would draw enough support to pass in a vote by the full House of Representatives. A Capitol Hill source told Fox News that committee members were looking to Wednesday's testimony from law professors to formulate articles that would have the best chance of passing.
Republicans have united behind Trump against the impeachment efforts, meaning Democrats cannot afford to lose many votes from their own party.
Some Democrats, like Van Drew, remain skeptical of the effort. "Is this really an impeachable situation?" Van Drew asked in an interview with USA Today, noting the rarity of presidential impeachment in American history, and the fact that no president has ever been removed via that process.
"At the end of the day, nobody's ever been convicted," he said. "There's a reason for that. Our founding fathers had tremendous concern with the idea of impeachment. The idea of taking an elected leader regardless of how good or poor you think that elected leader is, out of office and disenfranchising hundreds of millions of voters does a lot that isn't so good for this country."
Fox News' Chad Pergram, Gillian Turner, Adam Shaw, and Gregg Re contributed to this report.