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[Pages S5776-S5777]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IMPEACHMENT
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, Congress is returning to Washington
for a work period that will be filled with important to-do items, but
we already know what will top the agenda in the House of
Representatives: House Democrats are finally indulging in their 3-year
old impeachment obsession, full steam ahead.
Many of us remember the Washington Post headline that was literally
published on Inauguration Day in 2017. Here is what it said: ``The
campaign to impeach President Trump has begun.'' And, sure enough,
House Democrats have been at it ever since.
One prominent House Democrat called this Presidency illegitimate
before it had even begun. One of Speaker Pelosi's committee chairs whom
she has tasked with leading this process promised years ago that she
would find a way to impeach the President.
Now that Speaker Pelosi has finally crumbled and allowed her leftwing
impeachment caucus to dictate the House's actions, I don't think many
of us were expecting to witness a clinic in terms of fairness or due
process. But even by their own partisan standards, House Democrats have
already found new ways to lower the bar. This is about the most
consequential process the House of Representatives could possibly
engage in: overruling American voters and nullifying an election.
Surely, any such process must be conducted with the utmost fairness
and transparency. It must be held to the most exact of standards. Yet
House Democrats have wasted no time throwing fairness and precedent to
the wind. Already, they have denied their Republican counterparts
certain minority rights, like equal subpoena power, which Republicans
provided Democrats in the Clinton impeachment.
Already, they have made clear that President Trump's counsel will not
be allowed to participate in hearings, present evidence, and cross-
examine witnesses--all-important rights that Republicans provided to
President Clinton.
Already, one House chairman has been caught publicly
mischaracterizing his committee's handling of the whistleblower inquiry
on which this whole investigation hinges.
For all the public hyperventilating over institutional norms that we
have heard from House Democrats in recent years, it appears they have
no intention of letting norms, precedents, or basic due process stand
in their way as they seek to cancel out a Presidency.
In the meantime, in the Senate we will keep our focus squarely on the
substantive work we need to complete for the American people. In the
coming days, we will confirm another slate of President Trump's well-
qualified nominees. For starters, later this afternoon, we will advance
the nomination of Barbara Barrett, the President's choice to be
Secretary of the Air Force.
Speaking of our Armed Forces, Congress can waste no more time in
getting our appropriations process back on track and delivering a
funding that our servicemembers need. Just 2 months ago, the President
and the Speaker of the House produced an agreement to guide the
appropriations process. The White House and congressional leaders set
top-line funding targets for defense and nondefense and agreed to
forego poison pills. Last month, unfortunately, our Democratic
colleagues went back on the deal. Routine funding negotiations were
again subject to poison pill threats, and urgent resources for the
operations of the Pentagon were withheld for the sake of politics.
We need to put these political games aside. Democrats need to stop
filibustering a pay raise for our troops and
[[Page S5777]]
the funding our commanders need. We need to get our funding process
back on track for the entire Federal Government.
House Democrats need to stop slow-walking the USMCA, the landmark
trade agreement that stands to create 176,000 new American jobs. Mexico
is ready, Canada is ready, and a majority in the Senate is ready. The
entire continent is just waiting on Speaker Pelosi to stop blocking
this win for the United States and to stop blocking these new jobs. I
don't care how much my Democratic colleagues in the House may dislike
the President. They shouldn't throw 176,000 new American jobs on the
scrap heap.
On all these fronts, I hope sincerely that our Democratic colleagues
will be able to separate this vital business from their animus toward
the administration and join Republicans in moving forward with the work
of the American people.
____________________
