Josh Hawley: Impeachment 'Diverted' Congress from America's Most Pressing Issues

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said on the Senate floor Wednesday the drive to impeach President Donald Trump has “diverted” Congress’ from addressing the country’s most pressing issues.

Sen. Hawley delivered an impassioned speech in the Senate, contending not only have Democrats fractured the country with this partisan drive for impeachment, but they also wasted valuable time Congress could have used to address the real issues Americans want Congress to address.

“It is time to bring this fiasco to a close. It is time to end this cycle of retribution and payback and bitterness. It is time to end the abuse of our institutions, and it is time to let the verdict of the people stand. And,  so I will vote today to acquit the president of these charges,” Hawley said.

However, the Missouri populist noted, “It has sapped our energy and diverted our attention from the real issues that press upon our country. The issues that people of this nation have tried to get this town to care about for years.”

Hawley noted several of the crises that Congress could have focused on instead of impeachment. He said:

I mean the crisis of surging suicides and drug addiction that is driving life expectancy down in my state and across this nation.

I mean the crisis of the border where drug are pouring across.

I mean the crisis of skyrocketing healthcare costs which burdens families, young and old with bills they cannot pay.

I mean the crisis of affordable housing, which robs parents of a safeplace to raise their children and build a life.

I mean the crisis trafficking and exploitation which robs our young girls of boys of a future in our society of their innocence.

I mean the crisis of unfair trade and lost jobs and broken homes and I could go on.

Sen. Hawley’s speech echoes a sentiment he expressed during an interview with Breitbart News last September. Hawley said that if the Republican Party “wants to have a future,” it will have to become a “movement of working people.”

The Missouri conservative contended that the best way to combat Democrats is to advocate for policies that will benefit the “American middle,” or the country’s working class. The senator has cited combatting unfair trade practices, skyrocketing healthcare prices, and taking on monopolies as part of these policies that will help the average American.

Sen. Hawley spent much of his time during the August recess visiting Missourians, learning what matters to the average American. He said Missourians on both sides of the political aisle no longer feel represented by the Washington, DC, class.

Hawley said during his speech most Americans do not care about impeachment; they care about the disintegration of their communities and livelihoods. He explained:

My point Madame President is this: when I listen to the people of my state I don’t hear about impeachment. I hear about home and neighborhood, of family and community and the lost of faith in our government and about the struggle to find hope for the future. And this town owes to these Americans, the ones who sent us here to finally to listen, finally to act, finally to do something that really matters to them. We must leave this impeachment circus behind us and ensure that our Constitution is never again abused in this way. It is time to turn the page. It is time to turn a new politics of the people, to a politics of home, it is time to turn to the future. A future where this town finally accepts the people’s judgment and the people’s verdict, where this town finally delivers for the people that elected them. A future where the middle of society gets a fair shake and a level playing field, a future where maybe, maybe this town will finally listen.

“Mr. President, we can find the common good; we can push the boundaries of the possible, we can rebuild this nation if we listen to the American people. So let us begin,” Hawley concluded.