The House Judiciary Committee hearing erupted late last night after chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) postponed the panel’s impeachment vote until 10 a.m. Friday morning.
Nadler said he wanted to give members time to “search their consciences” before casting their votes.
“It is now very late at night,” Nadler said. “I want the members on both sides of the aisle to think about what has happened over these last two days, and to search their consciences before we cast their final votes. Therefore, the committee will now stand in recess until tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., at which point I will move to divide the question so that each of us may have the opportunity to cast up-or-down votes on each of the articles of impeachment, and let history be our judge.”
Ranking committee member Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) condemned the last minute change, and said to Nadler, “Mr. Chairman, there was no consulting with the ranking member on your schedule for tomorrow? You just blew up schedules for everyone. You chose not to consult the ranking member on a scheduling issue of this magnitude? This is the kangaroo court we’re talking about. Not even consult? Not even consult? 10 a.m. tomorrow?”
Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-TX) can be heard calling Nadler’s tactics “Stalinesque.”
"UNBELIEVABLE": GOP members respond to Rep. Nadler's abrupt move to postpone the impeachment vote https://t.co/HU8Rbr5TVo pic.twitter.com/bVp5KsZhZE
— Heather Monahan (@HeatherMonahan_) December 13, 2019
Collins addressed reporters after the committee hearing and slammed Nadler’s move as “the most bush-league thing I have seen” and slammed Democrats for their stunt, stating they just wanted to delay the vote tomorrow so it could be seen by more people on television.
“If the American people wonder about this impeachment any this committee is more concerned about getting on TV in the morning than it was finishing its job tonight and letting the members go home. Words cannot describe how inappropriate this was…[Democrats] do not care about rules. They have one thing: their hatred of Donald Trump…” he continued.
Rep. Collins slams Rep. Nadler for putting House Judiciary Committee in recess: "The chairman's integrity is gone." https://t.co/Lbt448jI5K pic.twitter.com/qvcHPuHvly
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 13, 2019
