As lawmakers debate opening an impeachment inquiry, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., sat down with KING 5’s Jake Whittenberg for an exclusive interview about her outspoken call for an impeachment inquiry, the crowded race for the 2020 White House and the response she received after her speech about being the parent of a gender non-conforming child.
“I don’t know if I fully understood exactly what it would be. In this Congress, I just cannot say enough of how much work it is to be in the majority,” Jayapal said.
Jayapal has become a prominent member of Congress since taking office over two years ago and is the only member from Washington State to serve on the House Judiciary Committee.
She stressed that an impeachment inquiry was not a part of the formal impeachment process, but instead gave House members more legal standing in their investigation as part of the constitutional powers.
The House has launched dozens of investigations into the Trump administration, and there have been multiple calls for an impeachment inquiry in addition to Jayapal’s, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not acted upon them yet.
Besides the House, Jayapal also spoke about the crowded field for the White House in 2020.
“I’m not ready to endorse but I’m thrilled with the caliber of candidates that are running,” she said. I like that we have…maybe not 23 or 24, but I like that there are a lot of candidates, because they each bring something different.”
Of Washington state Governor Jay Inslee, she said she liked that he had a “bold” approach to stopping climate change.
She also spoke about the response she’s received from her speech about her 22-year-old gender non-conforming child. She shared her experience as the mother of a LGBTQ child at the House Judiciary Committee in April.
“I got so many beautiful emails and text messages and tweets saying, ‘We never thought we would hear a member of Congress use the ‘they’ pronoun, we never thought we would hear a member of Congress fight for gender non-conforming people and trans people,’” she said.
“That movement has only been possible, because people across this country have been committed to building awareness and putting those issues front and center.”