Members of the House Freedom Caucus rallied conservatives outside the U.S. Capitol Wednesday morning to put pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate for a trial.
Rep. Mark Meadows, North Carolina Republican, said the withholding of the articles for roughly three weeks runs afoul of the Constitution.
Mr. Meadows, who previously chaired the conservative caucus that butt heads with establishment Republicans such as former Speaker John A. Boehner, said he has experience getting rid of speakers, and it is time for a new one in the House.
“Acquit this president, so we can get on with creating jobs and doing what this president does best,” he said.
Mrs. Pelosi was in a meeting Tuesday evening where impeachment was being discussed, but that quickly changed when news broke that Iran attacked U.S. military bases in Iraq.
The Senate can’t begin the impeachment trial under the current precedent until the House transmits the articles of impeachment.
House Democrats charged Mr. Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress on Dec. 18. The accusations stem from a July phone call the president had with his Ukrainian counterpart where Mr. Trump requested a probe into a political rival, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden.
Mrs. Pelosi has said she would hold on to the articles of impeachment until she was guaranteed there would be a fair trial in the Senate, which is controlled by a Republican majority.
FreedomWorks, a conservative organization, helped organize Wednesday’s rally.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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