Chuck Schumer Tells Donald Trump Not To Let Impeachment Inquiry Stop Gun Reform
Donald Trump is facing the fight of his political career as Congress starts its impeachment inquiry, but at least one Democratic Party leader is still hoping to get some work done with the president.
On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he hopes that Trump will not let impeachment get in the way of the gun reform legislation that Democrats and Republicans have worked on in recent months. As the New York Post noted, Schumer called on Trump to “prove to the American people that he can still govern” even while facing the possibility of impeachment for allegations that he improperly pressured Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and Biden’s family.
Schumer said the best example to show that Trump could still govern amid political scandal would be to pass the bipartisan universal background bill, which has been held back from the U.S. Senate by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“Amidst the impeachment inquiry the gears of government can still move,” Schumer said. “Anyone who suggests otherwise is advancing a false narrative.”
Schumer’s call on Trump to help pass gun reform could be a response to reports that Trump met privately with NRA chief Wayne LaPierre this weekend. The New York Times reported that Trump sought the NRA’s help in the upcoming impeachment proceedings and with Trump’s re-election campaign. The NRA was one of the earliest and most staunch backers of Trump in the 2016 presidential election, devoting significant resources to helping him win the election.
The report indicated that LaPierre indicated the NRA would support Trump if he would “drop the games” on gun control legislation. Trump has publicly expressed a willingness to buck the NRA and work with Democrats on some measures of gun reform.
The NRA later denied the report.
“The NRA is not inclined to discuss private conversations with the President,” an NRA spokesman said in a statement.
“However, many of the accounts of the meeting, as reported in The New York Times, are inaccurate. The NRA categorically denies any discussion occurred about special arrangements pertaining to the NRA’s support of the President and vice versa.”
Donald Trump has not appeared in a mood to work with Democrats since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced this week that the impeachment inquiry would begin. The president has launched a number of attacks against them on Twitter, accusing Democrats of leading a witch hunt against him and even appearing to call for punishment for House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff.
