- Nancy Pelosi used 30 separate customized pens engraved with her name to sign different parts of her signature on impeachment articles against Donald Trump on Wednesday.
- Pelosi appeared to write a single stroke of her signature with each pen before changing to another one, a process she repeated 30 times.
- The pens were presented to her on silver trays.
- She then proceeded to hand out the pens as collectibles to house managers and chairmen who were present at the signing ceremony.
- The move angered many Republicans, who deemed it to be an inappropriate occasion to exercise the tradition of handing out pens.
- Trump's Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham was among those to slam the move, calling his impeachment a sham.
- Using numerous pens to sign important government documents and memos is not uncommon. Lyndon B. Johnson is said to have used 75 separate pens to sign the Civil Rights Act in 1964.
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Nancy Pelosi used dozens of customized, signed pens to sign different parts of her signature on Trump's impeachment articles before handing them out as collectibles at the signing ceremony on Wednesday - a move that angered many Republicans.
The pens were engraved with Pelosi's signature and filled three silver trays, as can be seen below in a tweet from CNN reporter Lauren Fox.
Pelosi picked the pens up one by one and used them to sign different parts of her signature on the impeachment articles against Donald Trump.
She then proceeded to hand them out to house managers and chairmen who will prosecute the case in the Senate.
You can watch the moment Pelosi signed the documents, and her 30 pen changes, below:
Many Republicans slammed Pelosi for her choice to hand out the pens, suggesting that it was an inappropriate thing to do on the occasion of a president's impeachment.
North Carolina Republican representative Mark Medows suggested in a tweet that "they," presumably referring to House Democrats, claimed that the signing was a "serious" and "somber" occasion, but handing out "impeachment signing pens" ran contradictory to that sentiment.
The House Republican Steve Scalise said the incident was "unbelievable" in a tweet.
"House Dems are so excited about impeachment that they're passing out commemorative pens and grinning for photos at a celebration ceremony," he wrote.
Stephanie Grisham, Trump's press secretary was also critical of Pelosi, tweeting: "Nancy Pelosi's souvenir pens served up on silver platters to sign the sham articles of impeachment...She was so somber as she gave them away to people like prizes."
Handing out pens is a tradition that marks the commemoration of passing a landmark law, and goes back to as far back in history to Franklin Roosevelt, according to Time magazine.
Using numerous pens to sign important government documents and memos is also not uncommon. According to a report from the Guardian newspaper, President Barack Obama used 22 different pens to sign the Affordable Care Act in 2010.
Lyndon B. Johnson is said to have used 75 separate pens to sign the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the Guardian reported.
So many pens that Pelosi will sign to officially transmit the articles of impeachment and sign resolution appointing House managers. Why so many? They will be given away to members like House managers as a symbol of today. pic.twitter.com/URHGGGGp7K
- Lauren Fox (@FoxReports) January 15, 2020They claim it's a somber, serious occasion they're heartbroken over... and then they pass out impeachment-signing pens with special cases. Folks. You can't make it up. https://t.co/jl9VKD8cUc
- Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) January 15, 2020Nancy Pelosi's souvenir pens served up on silver platters to sign the sham articles of impeachment...She was so somber as she gave them away to people like prizes. https://t.co/RMOiNeoMu0
- Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) January 15, 2020