Jodey Arrington on impeachment, trade with China

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - District 19’s Congressman Jodey Arrington sat down with KCBD this afternoon to discuss some of the hot topics in Washington, including U.S. troops in Syria, trade talks with China and the impeachment process.

Arrington said the process to impeach President Trump is a very serious, very constitutional matter. One that, in the past, has been done fairly and openly.

But, he said what’s happening now is not just unfair, but it is a distraction from the people’s business.

“I think once you do things this way and you weaponize Congress, weaponize our oversight responsibility, weaponize impeachment, it’s hard to put it back in the box,” Arrington said. “You set a terrible precedent and you do irreparable harm to our democracy.”

Congressman Arrington also talked about trade with China.

He admitted, the short-term effects of the fallout from the China tariff battles are real for farmers in West Texas. But, he said China has been circumventing the rules of fair trade for a while now.

“If we don’t hit reset with them, if we don’t get to a fair and balanced relationship with them, this could be the biggest threat, I think, to the future of our country,” Arrington said.

Arrington said he is hopeful China and America can come to an agreement in Chile on the first phase of a reform that will give the U.S. greater access to Chinese markets and a fairer trading relationship.

The congressman also said he is proud of his strong record of bipartisanship. He said he plans to continue to operate this way on behalf of the people of West Texas in order to get things done.

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