House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Americans "should be totally appalled" about President Trump's comments on Wednesday that he'd accept foreign intelligence on political opponents, but she again swatted away the question of impeachment — telling reporters that "not any one issue is going to trigger" the process.
"Everybody in the country should be totally appalled by what the president said last night. Should be totally appalled. He has a habit of making appalling statements. This one borders on so totally unethical but he doesn’t even realize it. However, what we want to do is have a methodical approach to the path we're on and this will be included in that. But not any one issue is going to trigger, oh now we're going to go do this."
The big picture: Pelosi said that Democrats plan to propose a package of legislation strengthening campaigns' "duty to report" foreign offers of assistance, in addition to other election security measures. She also called into question Republicans' continued loyalty to the president in the face of "totally unethical" behavior.
"What is it about the Republicans in Congress? How much more can they bear of the president's unethical behavior, that they think they're honoring their oath of office. I believe these are all connected. I think it's all about money. Connect the dots in all of this. It's all about money."
The bottom line: Democrats across the board have expressed shock and fury at Trump's latest explosive interview, arguing that he is effectively inviting foreign adversaries to continue to involve themselves in U.S. elections. But even so, Pelosi and Democratic leaders remain committed to staying the course and "educating the public" on Trump's alleged malfeasance before launching impeachment proceedings.
Go deeper: Which House Democrats currently support an impeachment inquiry