Impeachment

Floor Speech

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Mr. HAWLEY. Madam President, I come here today with the business of impeachment before this Chamber. It should hardly be necessary at this late juncture to outline again the train of abuses and distortions and outright lies that have brought us to today's impeachment vote: the secret meetings in the Capitol basement; the closed hearings without due process or basic fairness; the failure of the House to follow their own rules and authorize an impeachment inquiry and then the bipartisan vote against impeachment; and the attempt to manipulate or even prevent a trial here in the Senate--holding the Articles of Impeachment for 33 days--in brazen defiance of the Constitution's mandates.

The House Democrats have given us the first purely partisan impeachment in our history and the first attempt to remove an elected President that does not even allege unlawful conduct.

Animating it all has been the bitter resentment of a professional political class that cannot accept the verdict of the people in 2016, that cannot accept the people's priorities, and that now seeks to overturn the election and entrench themselves in power. That is how we arrived at this moment, that is how we got here, and that is what this is really about.

Now it is time to bring this fiasco to a close. It is time to end this cycle of retribution and payback and bitterness. It is time to end the abuse of our institutions. It is time to let the verdict of the people stand. So I will vote today to acquit the President of these charges.

You know, it has been clear for a long time that impeachment is not a priority of the people--it is not even close. It is a pipe dream of politicians. And as the Democrats have forced it on this country over these many months, it has sapped our energy and diverted our attention from the real issues that press upon our country, the issues the people of this Nation have tried to get this town to care about for years. I mean the crisis of surging suicides and drug addiction that is driving down life expectancy in my State and across this Nation. I mean the crisis at the border, where those drugs are pouring across. I mean the crisis of skyrocketing healthcare costs, which burden families, young and old, with bills they cannot pay. I mean the crisis of affordable housing, which robs parents of a safe place to raise their children and build a life. I mean the crisis of trafficking and exploitation, which robs our young girls and boys of a future and our society of their innocence. I mean the crisis of the family farm and the crisis of education costs for those who go to college and the lack of good-paying jobs for those who don't. I mean the crisis of connectivity in our heartland, where too many schoolchildren can't access the internet even to do their homework at night. I mean the crisis of unfair trade and lost jobs and broken homes. And I could go on.

My point is this: When I listen to the people of my State, I don't hear about impeachment. No, I hear about the problems of home and neighborhood, of family and community, about the loss of faith in our government and about the struggle to find hope for the future. This town owes it to these Americans--the ones who sent us here--finally to listen, finally to act, and finally to do something that really matters to them.

We must leave this impeachment circus behind us and ensure that our Constitution is never again abused in this way. It is time to turn the page. It is time to turn to a new politics of the people and to a politics of home. It is time to turn to the future--a future where this town finally accepts the people's judgment and the people's verdict and where this town finally delivers for the people who elected them; a future where the middle of our society gets a fair shake and a level playing field; a future where maybe--maybe--this town will finally listen.

When I think of all the energy and all the effort that has been expended on this impeachment crusade over almost 3 years now, I wonder what might have been.

Today is a sad day, but it does not have to remain that way. Imagine what we might achieve for the good of this Nation if we turn our energy and our effort to the work of the American people. Imagine what we could do to keep families in their homes and to bring new possibility to the Nation's heartland and to care for our children in every part of this society. Imagine what we could do to lift up the most vulnerable among us who have been exploited and trafficked and give them new hope and new life. Imagine what we could do for those who have been forgotten, from our rural towns to our inner cities. Imagine what we could do to give them control over their own destinies.

We can find the common good. We can push the boundaries of the possible. We can rebuild this Nation if we will listen to the American people. Let us begin.

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