Trump's presidency under threat of impeachment
You must have read or heard by now that the US House of Representatives through Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. The inquiry allows Congress to look into allegations of presidential misconduct by Trump in urging the president of Ukraine to investigate possible acts of corruption by then vice president, now presidential candidate Joe Biden and of his son. The Democrats in the House allege that Trump is using the power his office to dig up dirt on a political opponent using the assistance of a foreign government. For them, this is a gross violation of his oath of office, thus there is no other recourse but to remove him through impeachment.
We Filipinos are very familiar with how impeachment works. We have seen it played before our national discourse for more than just one instance. In the US, impeaching a US president has only been used three times, and each time, the country came to a polarizing crisis that affected the national psyche through generations. Impeachment is such a very potent inherent congressional power as it expressly overturns the will of the electorate who voted a sitting president into office.
Take note that what Ms. Pelosi has announced is just an inquiry, and no formal vote of impeachment has been called yet. The White House has already made its intentions clear in not cooperating with the demands of the various committees that seek to investigate Trump unless there is a full House vote.
We have yet to see how this whole thing unravels in the weeks to come. At this time, the American general public indicates no palpable and strong outpouring of support for impeaching the president. In the coming days this might change depending on what new evidence Congress may uncover.
As to how this inquiry impacts present immigration policies, it really does not change any existing policy at all. What is detrimental, I believe, is how Trump and the present Democrat-controlled House of Representatives can advance meaningful immigration laws from here on. If you were Trump, would you work with the same legislators who have no other desire but your political death? And if you were a Democratic congressman, would you give Trump the chance to score a political victory or perhaps reelection, by helping him pass immigration reform?
This promises to be a riveting political saga that we all have to watch out for.
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