WASHINGTON — House Democrats won't be voting soon to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
That's according to people familiar with Speaker Nancy Pelosi's message behind closed doors to her colleagues Tuesday.
Pelosi had gathered lawmakers for a closed session after House leaders surveyed rank-and-file members about it.
Trump calls the impeachment inquiry "illegitimate" and says the House needs to go on the record with a vote. Republicans want to put politically vulnerable Democrats in a tight position in areas where the president remains popular.
Pelosi counters that Congress is well within its authority to investigate as part of its oversight role. The Constitution gives the House impeachment powers but provides little guidance on the process.
Trump is being investigated over his effort to have Ukraine investigate political rival Joe Biden.
Vice President Mike Pence is refusing to comply with House Democrats' request for a long list of documents as part of its impeachment inquiry.
The vice president's counsel, Matthew E. Morgan, shared the news in a letter to the chairs of the investigating committees Tuesday evening. He's echoing President Donald Trump's lawyers' complaints that the House has not held a formal vote on the investigation.
Morgan is slamming what he's calling a "purported 'impeachment inquiry,'" claiming it "has been designed and implemented in a manner that calls into question" the members' "commitment to fundamental fairness and due process rights."
House Democrats are currently gauging support for a vote to formally authorize the impeachment inquiry in the face of White House stonewalling.
President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani has notified lawmakers that he will not comply with a subpoena issued in the impeachment inquiry.
A letter sent by attorney Jon Sale says the subpoena is "overbroad, unduly burdensome, and seeks documents beyond the scope of legitimate inquiry." Sale also echoes a letter from the White House counsel's office in describing the impeachment inquiry itself as "unconstitutional" and "baseless."
Democrats set a Wednesday deadline for Giuliani to provide documents.
Text messages and witness testimony have revealed Giuliani's role in a backchannel effort to get Ukraine to investigate a gas company linked to the family of Democratic rival Joe Biden.
It was not immediately clear how House Democrats conducting the impeachment inquiry would respond to Giuliani's refusal to comply.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Democrats are pursuing impeachment to try to "cancel out" President Donald Trump's election.
The Kentucky Republican spoke as Congress returned from a two-week recess, during which House Democrats probed Trump's pressure on Ukraine's president to investigate Joe Biden's family.
Opening the Senate, McConnell says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had long planned to topple Trump even if it means breaking with tradition.
McConnell says Democrats "have no intention of letting norms precedents or basic due process stand in the way as they seek to cancel out a presidency."
His remarks track with Republican complaints about the process Democrats are using to investigating Trump, which has included a series of closed-door depositions with current and former Trump administration officials.
Trump denies any wrongdoing.
