"These people look pathetic": Pelosi says McCarthy kowtows to Trump's demands because he's "afraid"

"This is not responsible," the former speaker said. "This is about being afraid"

By Gabriella Ferrigine

Published July 24, 2023 3:02PM (EDT)

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks with the media before a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks with the media before a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tore into House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for reportedly pledging to hold a House vote in an effort to see former President Donald Trump's two impeachments expunged. "Kevin is playing politics, it's not even clear if he constitutionally can expunge those things," she said. "If he wants to put his members on the spot, his members in difficult races on the spot, that's a decision he has to make but this is not responsible."

"This is about being afraid," she added. "As I've said before, Donald Trump is the puppeteer and what does he do all the time? Shine a light on the strings. These people look pathetic."

HuffPost reported that McCarthy's alleged efforts come as a result of his wavering support of Trump in recent years — specifically after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack — as well as his failure to endorse a Republican presidential candidate for 2024. In January, McCarthy said that he would consider expunging one or both of Trump's impeachments, saying, "I would understand why members would want to bring that forward. I understand why individuals want to do it, and we'd look at it."