Nancy Pelosi, not in a hurry to ITMFA.
Nancy Pelosi, not in a hurry to ITMFA. Alex Edelman / Getty Images

In the wake of the redacted Mueller report, a number of Democrats are demanding impeachment proceedings against President Trump. Among them: AOC, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Maxine Waters in the House of Representatives and Elizabeth Warren in the Senate.

Plus, Seattle's Congresswoman, Pramila Jayapal, has been on the record supporting impeachment since 2017 and now sits on the House Judiciary Committee, where any impeachment proceedings would begin. Jayapal said in a statement last week that Congress needs to see the full, unreacted Mueller report so it can perform its "Constitutional duty."

But Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is telling the ITMFA crowd to—once again—slow down.

While calling Trump "highly unethical and unscrupulous," and saying the Republicans should be "ashamed" of their standard-bearer, Pelosi nevertheless wants to wait for more hearings (former White House Counsel Don McGahn was subpoenaed today). She also wants more facts (i.e., the unreacted Mueller report).

Solidly on Team Pelosi: Joe Lockhart, the White House Press Secretary under President Bill Clinton, who argues that not impeaching Trump is the best way to secure long-term Democratic gains.

For Democrats, leaving Donald Trump in office is not only good politics — it is the best chance for fundamental realignment of American politics in more than a generation. Mr. Trump is three years into destroying what we know as the Republican Party. Another two years just might finish it off.

While Lockhart-style strategy may be on Pelosi's mind, it's not her stated rationale. "We all firmly agree that we should proceed down a path of finding the truth," Pelosi wrote in a recent letter to Democrats. "We must show the American people we are proceeding free from passion or prejudice, strictly on the presentation of fact."