Ducey stands behind president as House continues its inquiry
Governor dismisses impeachment probe as ‘shame,’ strongly backs Trump reelection
Nearly a month after impeachment proceedings against the president began, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said he hadn’t seen anything that would lead him to rescind his support for Donald Trump’s reelection.
“I am standing behind the president,” the Republican leader said in response to reporters’ questions Tuesday, after a manufacturing event in Goodyear.
“I’m going to be supportive, and if I’ve seen anything that has convinced me (how to feel about Trump), it’s been the Democratic debates,” Ducey said. “They strike me as the committee to reelect the president.”
The impeachment inquiry, which centers on whether Trump abused his presidential power by asking a foreign country to interfere in the 2020 race, started in September after the president refused to let Congress see a related complaint from a whistle-blower in the intelligence community.
At the time, Ducey dismissed the inquiry as “a shame” and “typical congressional behavior in this environment,” saying the partisan back-andforth that ensued was “not what (lawmakers) were elected to do.”
Since then:
❚ The governor has had time to review the White House memo summarizing a July call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It detailed Trump — whose administration at the time was withholding millions in military aid for the country — asking Zelensky to reopen an investigation into a Ukrainian energy company where Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son served on the board. Trump says he was trying to ensure Ukraine thoroughly investigate corruption issues.
❚ The complaint from the unidentified whistle-blower was declassified. It said Trump, “among other things,” had pressured Ukraine “to investigate one of the President’s main domestic political rivals.” It also said White House officials understood the “gravity” of Trump’s actions and tried to cover it up.
❚ The president publicly asked China to investigate the Bidens while talking to reporters at the White House.
❚ House Republicans attacked Democrats over the House Intelligence Committee conducting impeachment proceedings “in secret,” saying all lawmakers and the public should have more access to transcripts and other materials.
❚ Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney acknowledged a quid pro quo with Ukraine, though not one involving the Biden family, and described it as something “we do … all the time with foreign policy.” He later walked back his statements.
❚ House Republicans unsuccessfully tried to censure Democrat and House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, DCalifornia, over his handling of the impeachment inquiry, saying Schiff ’s conduct “misleads the American people in a way that is not befitting an elected Member of the House of Representatives.” GOP officials accused Schiff of portraying a “false retelling” of Trump’s call with Zelensky, among other complaints
Though the governor reiterated his support for the president Tuesday, he appeared to have changed his perspective slightly on Congress’ role in the proceedings.
Asked why he hadn’t called for further scrutiny of the president’s actions, he said Congress was conducting “all the investigation that’s necessary here.”
But he again said he wished federal lawmakers would prioritize other issues, adding that he was proud his administration had decided “not to participate in the rancor of Washington, D.C.”