Trump Impeachment Fallout? Chuck Schumer Worries Trump May Use Government Shutdown To Stall

Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D.-N.Y., told reporters Tuesday that he is growing increasingly worried that President Trump could attempt to shut down the government in order to stall the impeachment inquiry into his dealings with Ukraine.

Trump will have to sign a short-term spending bill before Nov. 22 to avert a shutdown, which would cause some federal workers to go without pay and others to be furloughed.

"I'm increasingly worried that President Trump will want to shut down the government again because of impeachment," Schumer said. "He always likes to create diversions. I hope and pray he won’t want to cause another government shutdown because it might be a diversion away from impeachment."

House Democrats will have to work with the Republican-majority Senate to negotiate a deal on the issue. But bipartisanship may prove to be difficult, as the House continues to move forward with its impeachment inquiry, which could anger staunch allies of the president.

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history started on Dec. 22, 2018, and ended Jan. 25, 2019, as Trump demanded $5.7 in federal funding for his proposed southern border wall as part of a funding deal, which Democrats were against. The five-week shutdown cost the U.S. economy an estimated $11 billion, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

Trump ended the shutdown by signing a bipartisan funding agreement, which did not including funding for his wall. Trump later declared a national emergency, which would allow him to bypass Congress to procure funding for the wall project.

House Democrats, meanwhile, continue to move forward with an impeachment inquiry, releasing the text of the resolution that is expected to reach the floor Thursday.

"The House impeachment inquiry has collected extensive evidence and testimony, and soon the American people will hear from witnesses in an open setting. The resolution introduced today in the House Rules Committee will provide that pathway forward," the Democratic chairmen of four House committees involved in the impeachment process said in a statement.