United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday that the House does not plan to hold a full vote “at this time” to authorise an impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump, Reuters reported. “There is no requirement that we have a vote and so at this time we will not be having a vote,” Pelosi said at a press conference, amid growing demands from the Republicans to hold a vote.

Meanwhile, House Intelligence Committee Chairperson Adam Schiff said information had been gathered in witness testimony despite “a complete effort by the administration to stonewall the probe”.

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The White House has criticised the lack of a vote and vowed not to cooperate with what it claims is an illegitimate investigation. “Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff are ringleading an impeachment circus behind closed doors, without setting rules, without even holding a vote,” the White House tweeted. “What don’t they want you to know?”

However, Schiff said, “The Constitution is very clear: The House will have the sole power of impeachment,” CNBC reported. “Republicans know it, but they don’t want to discuss the president’s conduct. They’d rather discuss the [impeachment] process.”

The impeachment inquiry is looking into allegations that Trump tried to force Ukraine’s president into investigating former US Vice President and 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden, and his son Hunter Biden.

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A whistleblower had revealed Trump’s conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which the US president had asked his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate the Bidens for alleged corruption. Trump, who released the transcript of the conversation last month, denied allegations that his actions had been inappropriate.

Another whistleblower with firsthand knowledge of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine also spoke to the intelligence community’s internal watchdog office last week.

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