House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., ripped Speaker Nancy Pelosi's announcement that the chamber would hold a formal vote Thursday on the Trump impeachment inquiry, tweeting that her move was "an admission that this process has been botched from the start."
"It's been 34 days since Nancy Pelosi unilaterally declared her impeachment inquiry," McCarthy said of his California counterpart. "Today's backtracking is an admission that this process has been botched from the start."
However, McCarthy said Republicans would not vote to "legitimize the . . . sham impeachment" being run by Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
In addition, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that the administration would not have a full response yet, but that "Speaker Pelosi is finally admitting what the rest of America already knew.
"That Democrats were conducting an unauthorized impeachment proceeding, refusing to give the president due process, and their secret, shady, closed door depositions are completely and irreversibly illegitimate."
In a letter to her Democratic caucus, Pelosi said Monday that the vote "affirms the ongoing, existing investigation that is currently being conducted by our committees as part of this impeachment inquiry."
The resolution would also include "all requests for documents, subpoenas for records, and testimony, and any other investigative steps previously taken or to be taken as part of this investigation.
"This resolution," Pelosi continued, "establishes the procedure for hearings that are open to the American people, authorizes the disclosure of deposition transcripts, outlines procedures to transfer evidence to the Judiciary Committee as it considers potential articles of impeachment, and sets forth due process rights for the president and his counsel."
But Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., characterized Pelosi's announcement as "rich."
"House Democrats now suddenly saying they'll vote on an impeachment resolution to 'ensure transparency' is rich," he tweeted, "considering they've spent weeks conducting interviews in secret, leaking their own talking points while locking down any and all information that benefits the president."