McConnell says Democrats’ impeachment priorities harming American position on world stage

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed House Democrats’ prioritization of impeaching President Trump over other policy priorities of appropriations and trade agreements.

The Kentucky Republican said Tuesday on the Senate floor that Democrats were deliberately avoiding consideration of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and slow-walking funding for the Department of Defense and other officials serving the U.S. abroad.

“House Democrats have enough time to continue their three-year-old obsession with impeaching the president, but they cannot find the time to pass a landmark trade deal that would create 176,000 new American jobs,” Mr. McConnell said on the Senate floor. “Just saying their priorities out loud indicates how backwards they are.”

As House Democrats prepare to hold public impeachment proceedings this week, funding for several federal agencies and departments is set to run out later this month.

While Congress took action last month on appropriations for a host of federal departments and agencies, the Senate remains stuck on funding in a more controversial spending bill that includes the Department of Defense.

“The United States of America cannot operate at less than full-strength on the world stage because Democrats are too busy, too busy impeaching the commander-in-chief,” Mr. McConnell said on the Senate floor. “While our Democratic colleagues continue to block the Senate from moving forward with defense funding on the floor, we [will] use this time to confirm more of the president’s well-qualified nominees to the executive branch and to the federal bench.”

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, meanwhile, criticized Mr. McConnell’s decision to pursue judicial nominees ahead of pursuing immigration reform. In light of oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday involving a controversy about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program implemented by former President Barack Obama, the New York Democrat suggested new action was needed now.

“It’s time to do the right thing for DREAMers and enshrine DACA into law,” Mr. Schumer said on the Senate floor.

He added, “As is the norm under Leader McConnell, we’ll not be debating legislation like the DREAM Act to improve the lives of average Americans, but instead we’ll vote on another slate of controversial Trump administration nominees.”