A Republican lawmaker on Friday predicted that the House’s impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump is likely to go “off the rails” once it moves to the House Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.).
“Say what you want to say about Adam Schiff, the criticism that you have not heard is that [he] is unable to properly run his committee. He is very competent,” said Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”
“Move to Jerry Nadler. His committee was run all over the place this summer. No plan. He was saying things that [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi didn’t want him to say,” Gooden noted further.
He added that Democrats behind the scenes are concerned about moving the impeachment inquiry to Nadler.
“I think there is concern he is incompetent and unable to run the actual impeachment process,” he commented.
“I think Nancy Pelosi is talking to her lieutenants, saying, ‘this isn’t going to go well if it’s managed by Jerry Nadler. I’m concerned with how it ends.'”
The concern comes amid new polling data suggesting that impeaching President Trump is becoming less popular with more Americans, many of whom are content to wait because 2020 is an election year.
When asked if there was anything involving President Trump’s behavior tied to the impeachment inquiry, Goodennoted that Trump has not broken any laws.
“The question is, should the president be impeached for breaking the law?” said Gooden.
“First of all, to answer your question, nothing concerns me. I think the president is doing a great job,” he continued.
“Back to the question, I’m part of Congress but it’s not my job to approve or disapprove. It is my job to make sure the Constitution is being followed and enforce the Constitution. That’s what my oath was.”