WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump's proposal to impose tariffs on Mexican imports if that country doesn't stem the flow of migrants trying to enter the United States is "a distraction from the Mueller report," Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday.
"And it's served its purpose: Here we are," the California Democrat noted as she faced questions on tariffs during her weekly news conference.
The speaker might have welcomed the distraction, however, if it meant Capitol Hill reporters paused from asking her about impeachment and divisions in her caucus about whether to begin those proceedings. Pelosi has repeatedly tried to avoid that issue by talking about Democrats' legislative agenda instead.
But impeachment questions persisted too, as Pelosi addressed the media before departing with a bipartisan congressional delegation to Normandy, France, for the 75th anniversary of the World War II invasion known as D-Day.
"I see in some metropolitan journals or on TV that we are trying to find our way and are unsure," Pelosi said when asked again about Democrats' oversight investigations and whether they're leading to impeachment. "Make no mistake: We know exactly what path we are on. ... There is no controversy."
Impeachment isn't the means to an end that some people think it is, when it comes to ousting a president from office, the speaker said.
"You get impeached and it's an indictment. So when you're impeaching somebody, you want to make sure that you have the strongest possible indictment," she said.
Pelosi's words might lead some to believe that the path she says Democrats know they are on will lead to a House indictment of the president, even if the Senate won't convict. But others may interpret her comments to mean that the path is simply an investigatory one with a yet-to-be-determined conclusion.
The speaker's ability to play to both sides of the impeachment debate is what has managed the divisions in her caucus and further stirred them at the same time. While she advised the press to abandon the notion that House Democrats are wrestling over the issue _ a tactic she's deployed in hopes the media will start paying more attention to their legislative agenda _ that's highly unlikely.
As Pelosi addresses the press weekly, knowing most of them simply want to ask about impeachment, she spends her opening statement ignoring the topic and touting Democrats' legislative activity.
This week, she talked about House Democrats' passage of the Dream and Promise Act, a bill that would provide permanent legal protections and a path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, as well as Temporary Protected Status and Deferred Enforced Departure recipients.
Pelosi noted that 100% of voting House Democrats supported the bill, saying, "It was not without its challenges, so I congratulate them all for that."
The speaker also noted that Sunday will mark 150 days that Democrats have been in the House majority and recapped a litany of bills that have been passed _ many with 100% Democratic support _ that are languishing in the Senate.
The first question Pelosi received from reporters was about the president's Mexican tariff proposal and a meeting she had Tuesday with officials from the Mexican government.
"Actually we were going to have this meeting but then the news came that the president had this notion that he was going to treat Mexico as an enemy," Pelosi said.
The speaker did not characterize any discussions the two governments had about the tariff proposal. Instead, she told reporters about the planned discussion over the USMCA trade agreement, noting Democrats reiterated that they want to get to "yes" on the deal but that their concerns about enforcement, treatment of workers, the environment and pharmaceutical provisions needed to be addressed first.
Still, Pelosi made clear that she is vehemently opposed to Trump's idea to use tariffs as a cudgel over Mexico's treatment of migrants, calling it "bad policy."
"This is dangerous territory. This is not a way to treat a friend. This is not a way to deal with immigration," she said.
The speaker declined to say how Congress might respond if the president proceeds with the tariffs as threatened, saying, "Let's see what they are sending forth and if they do send it forth."
When asked about the possibility of Congress having enough votes to override a presidential veto if they do take action against the president on this matter, Pelosi noted that the House Republican leader has said he'd stick by the president and it's unclear how many of his conference members would break with that. However, she predicted the Senate would have enough votes to override a veto.
