House Budget Committee Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said even though he supports the House impeachment inquiry against President Trump, removing him from the ballot wouldn’t help the Democratic Party in 2020.
“As much as I believe that President Trump should be removed from office and represents an imminent threat to our Democracy and our national security and many other things, politically — it’s probably not a good thing to get rid of him,” Yarmuth told Hill.TV on Monday.
Yarmuth predicted that if Trump was ultimately impeached and removed from office, the GOP would replace him with an even more formidable general election opponent like former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who has repeatedly been floated as a potential Republican presidential candidate.
“I don’t think the Republican would nominate [Vice President] Mike Pence. I think they would nominate somebody like Nikki Haley. Somebody who would be very, very tough for a Democrat to beat,” he said.
Yarmuth’s comments come as House Democrats continue to shift their impeachment inquiry into the public light.
Investigators on Monday released two transcripts from closed-door meetings with a pair of former and current State Department officials.
More transcripts from key witnesses are set to be released in the coming days.
—Tess Bonn
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