Trump ignores 395 bills Democrats have passed to claim they're only focused on impeachment

Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that Democratic efforts to launch an impeachment inquiry into him had rendered the party useless.

“The Democrats are so focused on hurting the Republican Party and the President that they are unable to get anything done because of it, including legislation on gun safety, lowering of prescription drug prices, infrastructure, etc.” Trump tweeted Tuesday afternoon. “So bad for our Country!”

In fact, Democrats in the House have passed hundreds of pieces of legislation since taking back control in January, many of which the Republican-controlled Senate has blocked from becoming law.

The Democrats are so focused on hurting the Republican Party and the President that they are unable to get anything done because of it, including legislation on gun safety, lowering of prescription drug prices, infrastructure, etc. So bad for our Country!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019

Since the start of this Congress in January, the House has passed at least 395 pieces of legislation. All of these were passed while the House was also carrying out its constitutionally required oversight of Trump and the executive branch.

With Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — the self proclaimed “grim reaper” — ruling the upper chamber, the vast majority of these bills have not even gotten a vote in his so-called legislative graveyard. Even some Senate Republicans have bristled as McConnell has devoted most of his time to nominations and quorum calls, allowing virtually no legislating.

The House also passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and Enhanced Background Checks Act in February — precisely the sort of “gun safety” legislation Trump now claims they cannot pass.

While blocking this and other gun legislation, McConnell has repeatedly pointed to the fact that Trump will not level with the American people about what he actually supports. The Trump White House  issued a “statement of administration policy” announcing strong opposition to the House-passed proposals.

The House also passed a series of fixes to the Affordable Care Act in May, including legislation to lower drug prices. McConnell has made it clear that this and other House Democratic proposals are dead on arrival in the Senate.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer reached a tentative agreement with Trump in April to pursue a $2 trillion infrastructure plan. After many in Trump’s party and even in his own administration worked torpedo the idea, Trump cancelled the effort and said he would not do his job until congressional Democrats stopped conducting oversight.

While many of the other stalled bills are relatively minor and non-controversial proposals, many are significant and popular measures. The House passed the Equality Act in May to provide explicit anti-discrimination protections for millions of LGBTQ people. The House also passed the For the People Act in March to strengthen American democracy and voting rights.

In March, the House passed the Paycheck Fairness Act to protect workers from gender discrimination. And in May, the House passed a bill to return the United States to the Paris climate accords.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.