Speaker Nancy Pelosi has put herself in an untenable position in the impeachment process against Donald Trump, White House officials claimed yesterday.

Ms Pelosi is delaying sending House-passed articles of impeachment to the Senate until Republicans provide details on witness and testimony for the president’s trial.

But yesterday a senior administration official suggested she would soon relent, paving the way for the Republican-controlled Senate to settle on the contours of a trial that is likely to result in Mr Trump’s acquittal on charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.

“She will yield. There’s no way she can hold this position,” said Marc Short, the chief of staff to Vice-President Mike Pence. “We think her case is going nowhere.”

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The House voted last week to impeach Mr Trump, who became only the third president in US history to be formally charged with “high crimes and misdemeanours”.

But Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and minority leader Chuck Schumer have been at an impasse over the next step.

Mr Short called Ms Pelosi’s delay unacceptable, saying she’s “trampling” the president’s rights. “If her case is so air-tight … why does she need more witnesses to make her case?” he said.

Mr McConnell has all but promised an easy acquittal of the president, with the trial featuring only presentations and arguments.

Ms Pelosi and Mr Schumer are demanding witnesses who declined to appear before the House, including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton.

A close Trump ally, Senator Lindsey Graham, predicted Ms Pelosi would cave in. Asked if he expected witnesses, he replied: “No, I don’t.”

The Senate’s second-ranking Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, criticised senators from both sides, including Mr Graham, who have already announced how they will vote in the trial, saying the Constitution requires senators to act as impartial jurors.

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