A leading House Democrat has suggested there is not enough support for impeaching President Donald Trump “right now,” but added that “it may come to that,” as Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged patience.

House Judiciary Committee chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said on Wednesday that there does not seem to be enough support among his fellow Democrats to launch impeachment proceedings right away.

“There does not appear to be support for it now. And we will see. The support may develop,” Nadler told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

His comments came after Pelosi (D-CA) tried to downplay calls for impeachment coming from some portions of her party.

“Make no mistake: we know exactly what path we’re on. We know exactly what actions we need to take. And while that may take some more time than some people want it to take, I respect their impatience,” Pelosi said on Wednesday.

Though a number of prominent Democrats have called for Trump’s impeachment for months, those calls gained in volume and urgency last week, following the press conference by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Announcing he was ending his tenure, Mueller contradicted his own report to imply that only Justice Department policy prevented him from indicting the president for obstruction of justice, and that Congress would need to pick up where he left off.

This has put pressure on Pelosi, whether she is willing to admit it or not. Back in March, before Mueller conclusively debunked the Democrats’ accusations of Trump conspiring with Russia, she said Trump was “not worth” impeaching and joked that Trump has been a “great organizer” and “great fundraiser” for Democrats.

Pelosi is also aware that pushing for the impeachment of Trump may actually boost his popularity, giving him an additional advantage in next year’s presidential election against whoever the Democrats pick among two dozen contenders at the moment.

Furthermore, a successful impeachment would require a number of Republican defections – and despite several prominent dissenters, there is no indication of such a widespread rebellion against the president within his own party.

Democrats are also up against history. No US president has ever been removed from office through impeachment proceedings. Richard Nixon resigned before there could be a vote before the full House. Both of the presidents that were actually impeached by the House – Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 – were acquitted by the Senate, and allowed to remain in office.

“When that decision has to be made, it will be made not by any one individual – it will be made probably by the caucus as a whole,” Nadler told CNN. “Nancy will have the largest single voice in it.”

In the meantime, the Judiciary Committee Democrats are continuing to demand the unredacted copy of the Mueller report – which Attorney General Bill Barr is refusing to release on grounds that it would violate legal protections of grand jury and classified intelligence information. Democrats have scheduled a vote to hold Barr in contempt of Congress.

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