BOROUGHWIDE — Call it the Battle of the Outer Boroughs!
The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, set to begin in the U.S. Senate next week, is shaping up to be a Brooklyn vs. Queens battle. But there’s a lot more at stake than bragging rights.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi named two Brooklyn lawmakers, U.S. Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Hakeem Jeffries, as house managers in the impeachment of the Queens-born president.
House managers are akin to prosecutors in a criminal trial. Pelosi named seven members of Congress to the impeachment management team. The team is headed by Nadler and U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, chairperson of the House Intelligence Committee.
Nadler, a Democrat whose district is centered in Manhattan but includes parts of Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, is chairperson of the House Judiciary Committee. Jeffries, a Democrat whose district takes in all or parts of several neighborhoods including Bed-Stuy, East New York, Canarsie and Coney Island, is a member of the Judiciary Committee.
Trump grew up in Jamaica Estates in Queens.
Shortly after Pelosi named the house managers on Wednesday, Jeffries, who is also the chairperson of the House Democratic Caucus, took to Twitter. “We will follow the facts. Apply the law. Be guided by the Constitution. And present the truth to the American people,” he tweeted.
“Today is an important day. This is about the Constitution,” the New York Post quoted Pelosi as saying at a press conference in Washington, D.C.
The fact that two of New York City’s elected officials are making history as part of the team prosecuting the president of the U.S. did not go unnoticed by Borough President Eric Adams.
“Congressmembers Hakeem Jeffries and Jerry Nadler are fair and thoughtful representatives of New York, and I know they will carry out their duty to our country during this impeachment trial with the utmost integrity,” Adams said in a statement.
“I know that Congressmember Jeffries, Congressmember Nadler and all the prosecutors appointed by Speaker Pelosi will do New York, and our country, proud,” Adams added.
There is a slight twist to the Brooklyn vs. Queens showdown.
Jeffries’ congressional district also includes parts of South Ozone Park and Howard Beach in Queens.