As Capitol Hill has been set abuzz with the news that House Democrats will open an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, negotiators for the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) said they believe the authorizing bill debate will remain isolated from the impeachment issue.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that she will open a formal impeachment inquiry following reports that Trump has improperly pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the 2016 presidential election and former Vice President Joe Biden’s previous dealings with the Eastern European nation, while threatening to withhold military and diplomatic aid to Kyiv in the meantime. Trump has denied the claims of impropriety.
The potential impact on the ongoing fiscal 2020 NDAA negotiations appear minimal for now. Analyst Byron Callan of Capital Alpha Partners said in a Tuesday email to investors that while the risk of a longer continuing resolution or a government shutdown is possible due to “a partisan environment on steroids,” the company is not willing to change its odds of outcomes yet.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) told reporters Wednesday he feels “pretty sure” that the NDAA negotiations will not be impacted by the impeachment developments. He told Defense Daily he had attended a meeting of the “Big Four” – the chairmen and ranking members of both the House and Senate Armed Services committees – earlier on Wednesday and “nobody even brought it up.”
Other SASC subcommittee leaders told Defense Daily on Wednesday they similarly are optimistic that the NDAA will be spared from diversions coming out of the House impeachment inquiry.
“We’re able to walk and chew gum at the same time,” said Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), ranking member of the SASC airland subcommittee.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the ranking member of the SASC readiness and management support subcommittee, echoed that statement, adding, “I think the Big Four will avoid that happening.”
