McConnell Slams Democrats: ‘There’s No Governing Priority … that Won’t Take a Backseat to Impeachment’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) responded to the fifth public impeachment hearing Wednesday by tweeting that Democrats are shirking their legislative duties in pursuit of impeachment, observing that “there’s no governing priority – no matter how bipartisan, no matter how beneficial to Americans – that won’t take a backseat to impeachment.”

McConnell, who has refrained from offering in-depth analysis of the ongoing public impeachment hearings, tweeted during Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s testimony and noted that Democrats’ claim that “impeachment won’t keep them from legislating,” appears to be patently false, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has “refused to allow a vote on USMCA for months.”

“It appears there’s no governing priority – no matter how bipartisan, no matter how beneficial to Americans – that won’t take a back seat to impeachment,” McConnell wrote:

McConnell expressed the same view two weeks ago, slamming Democrats for forgoing their legislative duties in pursuit of impeachment and other “far-left schemes.”

He wrote:

Senate Democrats have voted twice to block funding for our nation’s armed forces. Our competitors are growing stronger. America and our allies are threatened. But Senate Democrats would rather fight with the White House than deliver bipartisan funding for our military. Meanwhile, House Democrats are blocking the USMCA while they pursue their three-year-old impeachment obsession. 176,000 new American jobs are being held up because this major new trade deal might interfere with House Democrats’ political theater. On the campaign trail, leading Democrats are rallying around far-left schemes to take away Medicare, take away the existing health insurance that Americans get on the job, and leave American families with no options except an untested one-size-fits-all government insurance plan. We need our Democratic colleagues to put aside socialist daydreams and fulfill their basic governing responsibilities. Republicans are ready and waiting to fund our servicemembers. We are ready and waiting to pass the USMCA. We just need Democrats to show up.

On Tuesday, McConnell expressed doubt that an impeachment trial in the Senate would ultimately lead to President Trump’s removal:

“I will repeat what I’ve said in the past. It’s inconceivable to me that there would be 67 votes to remove the president from office,” McConnell stated.

“A number of Democratic senators are running for president. I’m sure they’re going to be excited to be here in their chairs, not being able to say anything during the pendency of this trial,” he continued.

“So, hopefully, we’ll work our way through it and finish it in not too lengthy a process,” he added.