Capitol Politics

 

 U. S. Capitol

Now that we’re retired, Tim and I spend much of our time following national as well as local political news. Not surprisingly, the daily outrages coming out of the White House keep us plenty busy. So naturally we were intrigued when the L.A. Times announced its latest “expedition,” touring Washington D.C. with one of its political reporters. President Bill Clinton was in the midst of impeachment the last time we visited D.C., 20 years ago. Might another impeachment happen if we returned? We signed up immediately.

Our group was small: nine well-read Southern Californians who, despite political affiliation, were all as concerned about the current White House as we are. Our guide was a Times political reporter and D.C. resident. Thanks to him and his contacts, we were able to: meet with staff from the Constitutional Accountability Center, which is representing Congress in an emolument lawsuit against the White House; watch the filming of MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews; eat lunch with L.A. Times editor Jackie Calmes, who is writing a book about recent Supreme Court appointee Brett Kavanaugh; have drinks with MSNBC political commentators; meet retired Congressmember Henry Waxman, who now works for his son’s lobbying firm; and tour the recently-renovated offices of the Motion Picture Association.

The true highlight, however, was touring the Capitol building, where we unexpectedly stumbled into the middle of history. After briefly visiting the Supreme Court building, we walked over to the Capitol and chatted with Senator Kamala Harris’s communications aide. Two interns then took us on a tour of the Capitol, including rides on the underground trams that take legislators from their buildings to the main part of the Capitol—typical VIP touristy stuff.

Looming over all of this, however, was the whistleblower complaint claiming that the White House used promises of military aid to extort Ukraine into investigating presidential candidate Joe Biden. In response, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi scheduled a special Democratic caucus meeting at 4PM to discuss whether or not to launch a formal impeachment inquiry. Their decision would then be publicly announced at 5PM.

 

It was almost 3PM when we just happened to be walking by Pelosi’s office in the Capitol. Suddenly there was a flurry of activity as somebody whispered, “There’s Schiff!” And sure enough, here came an entourage including Congressmember Adam Schiff, chair of the House intelligence committee, followed closely by Jerry Nadler, chair of the House judiciary committee. Obviously both were on their way to confer with the Speaker before the 4PM meeting.

“Oh my god,” I said to no one in particular. “It’s happening!”

Within seconds, we were surrounded by TV, radio, and newspaper reporters eagerly awaiting news. Anticipation filled the hall. We all knew the three Congressmembers were talking impeachment. I could barely breathe.

Our Times guide had arranged a 3:15PM meeting with L.A. Representative Jimmy Gómez, so we quickly made our way to another part of the building. It seemed impossible that the hundreds of happy-go-lucky tourists we passed didn’t know what was happening in Pelosi’s office. Making no predictions, Gómez was clearly distressed about the decision he would soon help make, saying that this was a sad but historic day. He then left for the 4PM meeting as his aide took us down a flight of stairs that led to the back of the building.

As we were leaving, we heard a loud cheer: Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, wearing a bright orange hijab, was greeted by a small, but loud, group of pro-impeachment supporters. Exiting the building, we joined the supporters for a quick photo before walking to our van. Only then did I allow myself to cry, relieved that Congress was at last moving toward impeachment. At 5PM, we listened to Pelosi’s announcement as we drove back to the hotel. A formal inquiry was finally being launched.

 

 View of the Capitol from the Supreme Court building

More photos of our trip follow below.