Farce Turns to Tragedy in the House
Pelosi never went to the floor without the votes in her "pocket."
Three Republicans voted against impeachment. One Wisconsin Republican, Mike Gallagher, was swarmed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and others, shouting. A young shining star on his side, Gallagher abruptly decided to quit the House: a profile in courage.
At the same time, Democrat Al Green of Texas appeared from his hospital bed to come to his party's aid. In a circle of fate, Green first shouted into the wind that Donald Trump deserved impeachment as president.
Much was wrong with that wild scene.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, the worst troublemaker in the House, instigated the impeachment vote. Where she goes nobody should follow. There were no "high crimes," as Gallagher said. The debacle took up floor time when House work for the nation is undone.
The House succeeded on a second try Tuesday night, 214-213.
The backstory made for a dark subplot involving the master puppeteer of his party, Trump. The candidate plays an offstage role in leading Johnson (not Moses) into the wilderness.
Meanwhile, on the Senate side, party leaders reached for an overarching deal on military aid for Ukraine and Israel, combined with a bipartisan border deal and humanitarian assistance for Gaza.
True to Trump, Johnson flatly told Mitch McConnell, the old-school Senate Republican leader, that a border bill would be "DOA," dead on arrival in the House.
That takes gall, to be blunt when you're so new. McConnell, to his credit, tried hard to link foreign aid to Ukraine with a border bill.
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