Los Angeles Rep. Jimmy Gomez, one of the top Democrats negotiating for a U.S.-Mexico trade deal, argued Wednesday that the impeachment inquiry may actually help the deal get through Congress.
“Fielding questions from reporters on the potentially negative impact impeachment has on the #USMCA negotiations I’m involved in,” tweeted Gomez, one of the House lawmakers that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tasked with meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in order to broker a deal. “I don’t necessarily see it that way. Impeachment might actually help.”
Fielding questions from reporters on the potentially negative impact impeachment has on the #USMCA negotiations I’m involved in.
I don’t necessarily see it that way. Impeachment might actually help.
My @GameOfThrones fans will get this #LittleFinger quote:
“Chaos is a ladder.” https://t.co/PjuTOkCY8v
— Rep. Jimmy Gomez (@RepJimmyGomez) September 25, 2019
Gomez further elaborated by citing a quote from the character of “Littlefinger” in the Game of Thrones TV series: “Chaos is a ladder.” The quote is used by the character to argue that chaos creates opportunities for the bold.
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade deal, which would replace the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement, has been the subject of negotiations between the White House and Democrats for months. Pelosi and other Democrats have demanded stronger enforcement measures in the deal but said that they do want a version of it to pass.
President Trump himself suggested to reporters Wednesday that the impeachment inquiry could derail the deal’s chances but argued that it would be because the Democrats were too distracted. “I don’t know that they’re ever going to get to a vote,” he said. “I don’t think they can do any deals.”
But Democrats disputed that, arguing that the impeachment inquiry and the trade deal were separate matters. “There is no reason, based on what happened yesterday, to think that there’s any deterrents that will hold us back,” House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat told reporters Wednesday.
