May 24, 2019

Nancy Pelosi's impeachment power

Speaker Pelosi holds her weekly news conference on May 23. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

There may not be another Democrat in the country, besides Speaker Pelosi, who would have had the ability to hold off the rank and file's push to impeach President Trump.

The state of play: The view on the Hill seems to be that if Pelosi puts her foot down and says "no" to impeachment, then there’s no chance House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler or others will defy her wishes.

Yes, but: The pressure to impeach will keep growing.

  • If Democrats win in court to get Trump’s financial documents, some energy could go out of the impeachment drive.
  • But if Democrats lose in court, it’s going to be extraordinarily difficult to hold off impeachment.

Be smart: Ignore any Democrats who say you can always open an impeachment inquiry, and this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll impeach Trump.

  • In what universe do you see Democrats opening impeachment — which would be the dominant story in America for the foreseeable future — and then get to the end of it and say: "You know what? He’s kinda clean and legit!"

Go deeper: How an impeachment inquiry could make it easier for Dems to investigate Trump

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Axios
Updated 44 mins ago - Health

World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

New Zealand has a single novel coronavirus case after reporting a week of no new infections, the Ministry of Health confirmed on Friday local time.

By the numbers: Nearly 6 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 and over 2.3 million have recovered from the virus. Over 357,000 people have died globally. The U.S. has reported the most cases in the world with over 1.6 million.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8:30 p.m. ET: 5,803,416 — Total deaths: 359,791 — Total recoveries — 2,413,576 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 8:30 p.m. ET: 1,720,613 — Total deaths: 101,573 — Total recoveries: 399,991 — Total tested: 15,646,041 — Map.
  3. Public health: The mystery of coronavirus superspreaders.
  4. Congress: Pelosi slams McConnell on stimulus delay — Sen. Tim Kaine and wife test positive for coronavirus antibodies.
  5. World: Twitter slapped a fact-check label on a pair of months-old tweets from a Chinese government spokesperson that falsely suggested that the coronavirus originated in the U.S.
  6. 2020: The RNC has issued their proposed safety guidelines for its planned convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.
  7. Axios on HBO: Science fiction writers tell us how they see the coronavirus pandemic.
  8. 🏃‍♀️Sports: Boston Marathon canceled after initial postponement, asks runners to go virtual.
  9. What should I do? When you can be around others after contracting the coronavirus — Traveling, asthma, dishes, disinfectants and being contagious — Masks, lending books and self-isolating — Exercise, laundry, what counts as soap — Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — How to minimize your risk.
  10. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it, the right mask to wear.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Dave Lawler
3 hours ago - World

The eye of the COVID-19 storm shifts to Latin America

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Chart: Naema Ahmed/Axios

The epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic has moved from China to Europe to the United States and now to Latin America.

Why it matters: Up until now, the pandemic has struck hardest in relatively affluent countries. But it's now spreading fastest in countries where it will be even harder to track, treat and contain.

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