WASHINGTON _ Impeachment of President Donald Trump will largely be determined by two powerful, unpredictable forces: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats who face tough reelection races.
At the moment, Pelosi and those Democrats urge caution on moving down that path.
"I mean, there are millions of people who voted for this president in 2016 and put him into office. And your vote matters," Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., told a Summerville town hall audience last weekend, "and to simply nullify that vote by starting down this road of impeachment, I think it requires thoughtful consideration."
Trump won his Charleston-area district by 13 percentage points in 2016.
Republicans need a net gain of 18 seats in 2020 to regain control of the House that they lost last year, when 31 Democrats won in districts Trump carried in 2016. A handful of other Democrats eked out wins last year over GOP incumbents, adding to Pelosi's political tightrope.
Since Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report was released in April, and he made a statement about it May 29, the clamor from many House Democrats has grown to begin a formal impeachment proceeding. Mueller made no decision on whether Trump obstructed justice, saying that charging the president with a crime was "not an option."
The impeachment process would likely begin in the House Judiciary Committee. Should articles of impeachment be approved there, the full House would vote. If Trump is impeached, a trial would be held in the Senate, and removal from office would require 67 of that chamber's 100 members.
Whether any of that happens will depend on those two Democratic forces. The outlook:
