Rep. Tom Suozzi warns Democrats: rushing to impeach Trump would be a 'waste of time'

Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) is warning fellow Democrats not to squander their new majority by rushing to impeach President Trump, telling radio's "Cats Roundtable" that it would "turn everybody off."

"Democrats have got to not squander this opportunity. They won. Now what?" Suozzi said. He urged his party to spend "75% of your time on affordability and fixing the problems we face, and 25% of your time on your constitutional mandate to do oversight."

"It would be stupid to rush into ... impeachment," he said. "That would be a waste of time. It would turn everybody off."

The moderate Democrat also told his party to resist pressure from its progressive wing: "We are capitalists, not socialists. We're for safety, not lawlessness. We're mainstream, not extreme." He backed Hakeem Jeffries for speaker, warning that an effort by progressives to deny him the job would be "a big mistake."

Democrats are expected to use their new majorities to launch sweeping investigations, with some in the party already talking about impeachment. Trump told the Washington Examiner after the election that he was "not even a little bit" concerned, saying a move would "destroy the Democrat Party."