House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) reacted to the release of the Robert Mueller report on Thursday by arguing impeachment of President Trump “is not worthwhile.” His two-sentence comment to CNN ignited a furor on the left, rankling those who predictably interpreted the report as further cause for impeachment efforts.
“Based on what we have seen to date, going forward on impeachment is not worthwhile at this point,” Hoyer told Dana Bash. “Very frankly, there is an election in 18 months and the American people will make a judgment.”
Hoyer’s apparent signal that Democratic leadership, like most of the rest of the country, is prepared to move on from the special counsel investigation didn’t sit well with a host of anti-Trump commentators. For a sampling of the backlash, see the tweets below. And expect the tension between Democratic leadership and the party’s progressive wing to escalate.
https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/1118965144623534080
This needs to be understood as straight-up abdication on the part of @LeaderHoyer himself. Note that he's even taking an impeachment *inquiry* off the table. Remarkable cowardice and dereliction of basic duty. https://t.co/CpdJJvjm2x
— Greg Sargent (@GregTSargent) April 18, 2019
this is an abdication of constitutional responsibility https://t.co/kKqG06SGIv
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) April 18, 2019
The Steny Hoyer quote is just unreal.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) April 18, 2019
Some things Democrats could say if they weren’t terrified of doing the right thing:
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) April 18, 2019
Here's @brianbeutler with the correct take on how Dem leaders should react. https://t.co/4Jz1077cGN
— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) April 18, 2019
https://twitter.com/drvox/status/1118969533379702784
So now political leaders get to break whatever laws they want in order to boost their power and it's all good b/c if the voters get mad they can vote against them afterwards.
If only there were hundreds of years of historical precedent on what happens right after that. https://t.co/lpJmky9LsL
— Hunter (@HunterDK) April 18, 2019
https://twitter.com/KenGude/status/1118965772741750784
“What we have seen” is a criminal conspiracy to obstruct justice, but okay. https://t.co/etFgyYFY2a
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) April 18, 2019
What about the election that happened 6 months ago when people voted for Democrats on the promise they would hold Trump accountable? https://t.co/sll7sG6v3w
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) April 18, 2019
Imagine being a member of Congress and three months into a term you’ve been elected to serve, you punt your constitutional responsibilities to voters a year and a half from now https://t.co/djcFtbkY98
— Jamison Foser (@jamisonfoser) April 18, 2019
Hard disagree. https://t.co/R66I00MHmv
— Neera Tanden🌻 (@neeratanden) April 18, 2019
https://twitter.com/KatzOnEarth/status/1118971829169926144
https://twitter.com/MacAree/status/1118966482422173697
Steny Hoyer should be removed from House leadership. https://t.co/S6fF5BAcXH
— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) April 18, 2019
https://twitter.com/tomwatson/status/1118977866966994948
And after that election in 18 months the first thing Democrats should do is boot Steny Hoyer out of leadership and replace him with someone who has a spine. https://t.co/9PHQVQBz7c
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) April 18, 2019
Impeachment would distract from focus on winning 2020 House races. And deep losses could potentially jeopardize the extent of Pelosi's and Hoyer's power. So they'd like to avoid that. But there is something more important at stake here: The integrity of the Republic.
— Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) April 18, 2019
Surely we can find a better Democrat than Steny Hoyer in Maryland, yes? https://t.co/fjdw0U4TUL
— Matt Ortega (@MattOrtega) April 18, 2019
They'd be able to make a better "judgement" in 18 months if Hoyer and co grew a backbone and held impeachment hearings… https://t.co/4ybuP4cTld
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 18, 2019
someone primary steny hoyer
— . (@swordsjew) April 18, 2019
https://twitter.com/owillis/status/1118981985760890880
https://twitter.com/seankent/status/1118973667449475072
https://twitter.com/jamescdownie/status/1118998516997738498
This right here is the rub. We wanted oversight not two years of planning for the next election. Do your god damn jobs. https://t.co/j8linvroVd
— Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) April 18, 2019
https://twitter.com/rossacrosswi/status/1118993101014675458
Are people calling Steny Hoyer's office? Call Steny Hoyer's office.
— Rakesh Satyal (@rakeshsatyal) April 18, 2019
Hoyer is getting ratio’d for spinelessly ruling out impeachment. Good. https://t.co/F864lPnOTt
— Chris Taylor 🖋️ (@FutureBoy) April 18, 2019
https://twitter.com/aleksnotalex/status/1118969194530390017
