WASHINGTON _ For 23 days after voting to impeach President Donald Trump, even the most senior House Democrats said they had no idea when Speaker Nancy Pelosi would send the articles of impeachment to the Senate.
They weren't being coy.
The California Democrat kept her colleagues largely in the dark as she deployed a strategy of withholding the impeachment articles until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell disclosed how he would structure an impeachment trial.
By the time Pelosi announced on Friday her intention to transmit the articles sometime next week, only a handful of Democratic lawmakers could say they had been consulted along the way since the House voted on Dec. 18 to impeach Trump on obstruction of Congress (229-198) and abuse of power (230-197).
Only two individuals _ Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and House General Counsel Doug Letter _had reliable, first-hand information about Pelosi's thinking and what might be her next steps, according to several sources close to Democratic leadership.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was also kept up to speed, with one source noting, "they speak multiple times every single day."
Everybody else was on a need-to-know basis.
The five other chairmen of committees with jurisdiction over impeachment in the House _ Judiciary, Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Oversight and Reform and Ways and Means _ were brought into the speaker's orbit for updates "periodically," said Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel of New York.
"She's always welcomed opinions," Engel said, "but she makes the decisions."
A contingent of eight or nine lawmakers trusted by Pelosi and who had expertise in areas such as constitutional law _ or a substantial Twitter following _ comprised a "strike team" responsible for translating Pelosi's general strategy into talking points for the media.
There was little indication this week that Pelosi had significantly looped in her two top lieutenants, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, both of whom have not always reflected Pelosi's views before and during the House impeachment inquiry last year.
"She hasn't asked me for advice or input," Clyburn told McClatchy earlier this week, saying he had "no idea" who she was consulting.
Not even Schiff, who was given the reins on the House impeachment proceedings, was always in the loop.
"Obviously, they talk and consult a lot and have throughout this entire process, but the Speaker keeps her cards close to her chest," said a source close to Schiff.
It was an extraordinary power play for Pelosi to single-handedly make decisions on an issue of such magnitude without providing meaningful updates to her members. It was also a move that showcased the extent to which she has solidified her power over the caucus.
While some of her members grumbled this week that it was time to let the Senate play its role in impeachment proceedings, nearly a dozen House Democrats and senior aides interviewed by McClatchy said they weren't bothered by Pelosi's secretive maneuvering and top-down decision-making.
"A lot of it has to do with the confidence that she has gained in this first year," said House Budget Chairman John Yarmuth, D-Ky.
"You remember several months ago all of these folks out here, 'oh, I think we need another Speaker, we need new leadership,' and all that," said Rep. Alma Adams, D-N.C. "There's no one, based on what I've seen, who could have handled the situation with the grace and integrity and professionalism that she has."
While Pelosi's decision to keep her plans quiet was likely to prevent leaks to the media, Yarmuth also suggested the "will she or won't she" guessing game might also have been designed to "get inside Trump's head."
Trump has been telling Republicans for weeks he is eager for the trial to begin. Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have responded by introducing resolutions that would, respectively, dismiss the charges against Trump and condemn Pelosi's actions and force her hand.
Pelosi's announcement, minutes after the House voted to impeach Trump, that she did not want to send the articles to McConnell until the Kentucky Republican revealed the "arena" in which a trial would take place, was seen as a risky move.
House Democrats wondered quietly what they would have to gain in continuing to hold onto the articles rather than wipe their hands of the controversial chapter, move onto legislative priorities and let the Senate take over.
There were also some concerns that Pelosi would be unable to pressure McConnell to agree to allow witness testimony and documents _ and that failure would be ridiculed and her clout questioned.
"Supposedly, the explanation for this shameless game-playing is that Speaker Pelosi wanted 'leverage' to reach into the Senate and dictate our trial proceedings to us," McConnell said in a floor speech Wednesday. "I've made clear from the beginning that no such 'leverage' exists."
"She's caving and sending her Articles of Impeachment to the Senate without getting a single one of her absurd demands," House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., tweeted Friday afternoon.
But Pelosi and her allies insist the strategy worked by revealing Senate Republicans' partiality, and possibly prompting a potential key witness, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, to offer to testify.
"In an impeachment trial, every Senator takes an oath to 'do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws,'" Pelosi wrote in a letter to colleagues announcing that she was calling for a vote to transmit impeachment articles to the Senate next week. "Every Senator now faces a choice: to be loyal to the President or the Constitution."
Heading to her office on Friday, however, she was asked whether she thought the Senate trial would be fair.
Her one-word answer: "No."
