Nancy Pelosi says she won't pressure skittish Dems to vote for impeachment

Some House Democrats may be iffy on whether or not to vote to impeach President Donald Trump, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says that she won't be pressuring them to do so.

During a Thursday morning press briefing in the Capitol building, Pelosi was asked if she had anything to say to Democrats who may be undecided on impeachment or worried about political backlash.

"I have no message to them," Pelosi responded. "We're not whipping this legislation, nor do we ever whip something like this.

"People have to come to their own conclusions," she said. "They've seen the facts as presented in the Intelligence Committee; They've seen the Constitution as they know it — they take an oath to protect and defend it — but they see the constitutional experts speak about it. They'll make their own decisions. I don't say anything to them."

Pelosi's remarks come on the heels of a report that some Democrats in vulnerable seats are more favorable to a measure censuring President Trump, rather than outright impeaching him and that a small group of them met on Monday to discuss the prospect.

"Right now, there's no other options," said one member of Congress who attended the meeting. "This is another option."

Last week, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) admitted to CNN's John Berman that Democrats "do expect to lose some" of their own members on an impeachment vote, "and that's why I said it's a conscience vote and it's with their constituents. We have a very diverse caucus."

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) chided Pelosi's remarks on Twitter, saying that they indicate that Democrats "know impeachment is backfiring" and "didn't even convince their own members."

During the press briefing, Pelosi also signaled that the House would vote on articles of impeachment "next week."