Congress

Amash, once a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, left the Republican Party in July and became an Independent after becoming the first and only member of his party to call for Trump's impeachment based on evidence from the Mueller report.

"We call upon the political leadership of both parties to speak out in favor of whistleblower protection," the lawyers wrote.

The president in recent days, by way of tweet storms and press conferences, has relentlessly bashed the Ukraine whistleblower and denied any wrongdoing during a phone call in which he pressured a foreign leader to investigate a political opponent.

The lawmakers said that after recent revelations from a whistleblower complaint detailing Trump's call with the Ukrainian president, where he asked the foreign leader to investigate a political opponent, they now backed impeachment proceedings.

"When Congress debates the Green New Deal, our representatives shouldn't have to rely on Exxon lobbyists."

If the bill is enacted into law, it will remove a barrier facing US cannabis firms.

"Looks like Mrs. Cunningham likes a man who supports baseless impeachment...wonder if this will come up in @RepCunningham's marriage counseling? the NRCC wrote in a tweet.

Most of the 11 holdouts are what's known as Frontline Democrats: freshmen members from swing districts who likely flipped a Trump district and were vital to the party retaking the House last year.

"I think the markets have factored in this idea that the president's opponents will stop at nothing to try to undermine and ultimately destroy him," Monica Crowley said.

"It is a felony to ask for or to receive, to conspire and plan for, to attempt to acquire aid for a presidential campaign from a foreign government or foreign national," Andrew Napolitano said.

Since the 2016 election, Senator Mark Warner has been Silicon Valley's most active and vocal watchdog on Capitol Hill.

The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 moved through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday.

"In place of this recess, we urge you to begin an aggressive hearing schedule, swiftly draft articles of impeachment, and vote to impeach Trump this fall," the progressive organizations wrote to House Democrats.

"It is shocking at another level that the White House would release these notes and felt that somehow this would help the president's case or cause because what those notes reflect is a classic mafia-like shakedown of a foreign leader," said Rep. Adam Schiff.

"I've heard from a lot of colleagues who are incredulous at how bad the talking points are," one staffer told Newsweek.

"I am hopeful that they will put the country before their political interests," Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell said.

Several Democrats, including two committee chairmen, conceded that Pelosi's announcement would do little—if anything—to alter their current congressional probes.

The focus should not be on "who benefits and who doesn't benefit," Chris Traux tells Newsweek. "The focus has to be on the rule of law and defending America's democratic institutions."

"I'm announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry," the House speaker said.

As of Tuesday, a majority of the 44 Frontline Democrats—a group of mostly freshmen who are viewed by the party as the most susceptible to losing their seats in 2020—supported impeachment proceedings.

Twenty one Attorneys General asked Congress to expand background checks to include ammunition purchases.

"I think the question is, has he done enough to start impeachment hearings? For sure!" former federal prosecutor Kim Wehle said.

President Donald Trump should "tell us as much as he can, without compromising executive privilege, so that we can understand what happened," the South Carolina Republican told a conservative radio host.

The surge comes as senior Democrats are ratcheting up their rhetoric when responding to the latest allegations that Trump pressed the Ukrainian president to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's son.

"More and more people are coming onboard," Congressman Ro Khanna said.

Ocasio-Cortez, a key figure in the Democratic party's progressive caucus, has publicly backed impeaching Trump since June.

"Based on the hierarchy of what's impacting minority Americans, if I had to make a list of 100 things, white nationalism would not make the list," the black conservative commentator told lawmakers.

"As painful as that might be, to have that increased oversight for the VA or any federal agency, they should be begging for it, if it means making that a better agency—especially what serves our nation's veterans," said Florida GOP Rep. Brian Mast.

"They are going to have to go all out to get this stuff," former federal prosecutor Nick Akerman told Newsweek.

A substantial majority of Americans do not trust elected officials, nor do they believe that those in elected office often face consequences.