GOP Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said Sunday he does not think Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has the power to hold the articles of impeachment the House passed last week from the Senate.
“Frankly, I don’t think the Speaker has the right to do this,” Blunt said on CNN’s “State of the Union” in response to Pelosi’s gambit not to hold the articles of impeachment hostage until Senate leaders agree on her one-sided trial parameters.
“The Speaker has a lot of power,” Blunt said, before adding: “the House has spoken.”
“I think it’s a mistake on the Speaker’s part. I think this will look pretty political,” he opined.
Blunt also said he’s voting “no” on impeachment. “The House had not made the case.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pledged “total coordination” with the White House team and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said repeatedly he’s not calling any witnesses.
“This is called a trial because there was really in the Constitution, I think, no better thing to call it,” Blunt reiterated. “It’s not a trial in any classic sense. It is a political decision to do it.”