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Trump impeachment’s impact on 2020 elections unknown
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While embattled U.S. President Donald Trump is likely to be acquitted by the Republican-led Senate, it remains unknown whether the impeachment will harm or help his chances of re-election, experts have said.
This week saw the Democrat-ruled House vote to impeach, and now House leader Nancy Pelosi must choose a team of “impeachment managers” to argue her party’s case at a Senate trial. While the trial is expected to commence next month, Pelosi has already said she will delay sending the charges to the Republican-dominated Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has billed the Democrats’ case as unfounded, saying he wants a shorter trial. A Senate majority of two-thirds is required to remove the president from office — an unlikely outcome, as Republicans have a 53-seat majority.
The impeachment stems from what Democrats say was Trump’s threat to withhold aid to Ukraine in a bid to pressure Kiev to investigate the son of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, a potential rival of Trump in the 2020 race. Biden’s son has had business dealings in Ukraine.
Democrats say this was tantamount to betraying the nation’s national security interests for the sake of Trump’s own political gains. They are charging Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Going forward, the impeachment could be a numbers game. Experts say McConnell has to make sure that there are no more than two Republican defections.
If three Republicans break, the deciding vote will come from the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice, Clay Ramsay, a researcher at the University of Maryland, told Xinhua. And if four break, the Democrats win.
WILL IMPEACHMENT IMPACT 2020 ELECTIONS?
It remains unknown how the impeachment will impact the 2020 elections.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement after Wednesday’s House vote that history was “made today, but not in a way Democrats had hoped.”
“With this vote, Nancy Pelosi and her fellow impeachment crusaders have ensured the reelection of President Trump and a return of a Republican majority in the House,” she said.