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All week, Democrats from Lyndon Johnson on down were frantically searching for an alternative to the obvious: that Congress should exercise its constitutional right to be the judge of its own members by at least censuring Powell, if not kicking him out. California Democrat Lionel Van Deerlin, for one, was determined to request the House to ask Powell to "stand aside" pending an investigation. Even Powell's wife seemed to think further investigation was in order. In a San Juan interview, Yvette insisted that she "would like to help" her husband. "But I realize he is a public servant," she added, "and I think it is right for the Congress to investigate if they choose."
Whatever the outcome, it was increasingly plain that failure to discipline Powell—a lawmaker who scoffs at the law—could only add to the Democratic leadership's already heavy political burdens, to say nothing of its obligations to the integrity of the U.S. Congress.