Did McConnell just call Pelosi chicken?

Mitch McConnell
(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/This Week)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) may hold back on sending the impeachment articles against President Trump to the Senate — and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is whipping out the classic "scaredy cat" rebuttal.

After the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed two articles of impeachment charging Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, Pelosi now needs to name impeachment managers for the Senate's trial. But Pelosi on Wednesday suggested she won't do so "until we see what the process is on the Senate side" and until she sees that it will be "fair."

McConnell spoke on Thursday morning and, responding to Pelosi, suggested she's simply too afraid to allow the trial to take place.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"Speaker Pelosi suggested that House Democrats may be too afraid, too afraid to even transmit their shoddy work product to the Senate," McConnell said. "Mr. President, it looks like the prosecutors are getting cold feet in front of the entire country and second guessing whether they even want to go to trial."

Speaking after McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats "want a fair trial" but accused McConnell of having "no intention of conducting" one. Pelosi is set to speak later this morning, where she may very well, in response to McConnell's suggestion she's chicken, channel her inner Marty McFly. Brendan Morrow

Explore More
Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.