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Vigorous impeachment inquiry debate on House floor

Reps. Steve Scalise, left, and Steny H. Hoyer debate impeachment inquiry on the House floor. (Screenshots/House Recording Studio)
Reps. Steve Scalise, left, and Steny H. Hoyer debate impeachment inquiry on the House floor. (Screenshots/House Recording Studio)

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, and Minority Whip Steve Scalise spent more than an hour on the House floor Friday afternoon engaged in a spirited debate over the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. The two lawmakers meet on the floor weekly to discuss their caucuses’ legislative agenda. Friday’s exchange was a stark departure from the more congenial tone in their fly-out day conversations.

The verbose back-and-forth between the senior congressmen began with a question from Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, on the process for impeachment. The conversation then turned to cover a wide range of arguments on impeachment in the House including:

  • [7:45] Process and rules of the impeachment inquiry
  • [13:17] Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee
  • [16:02] Foreign interference in U.S. elections
  • [23:42] The Mueller report
  • [28:50] Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
  • [31:50] Russia, Iran and Syria
  • [36:10] Historical precedent
  • [42:27] The Bidens
  • [45:20] White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney
  • [51:34] Legislative gridlock in the Senate
  • [57:10] Government shutdown

Frustrations, toward the end of the hour, cleared and both agreed to disagree. Scalise concluded the conversation with a call for talks on the issue between congressional leaders.

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