Reporter's Notebook: Democrats face an impeachment tractor beam that could derail their affordability message

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, plans to force a House-wide vote to impeach President Donald Trump as Congress returns to Washington this week, according to Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram. In a Reporter's Notebook analysis, Pergram compared impeachment to the tractor beam that traps the Millennium Falcon in the original Star Wars film, pulling Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca and Obi-Wan Kenobi into the Death Star and leaving them marooned once caught.

Pergram argued that once a party commits to impeachment, escaping its political consequences becomes nearly impossible. He wrote that Democrats, once drawn into impeachment proceedings, lose the ability to focus on affordability messaging, including the price of eggs, milk and gas, and struggle even to pursue oversight work. He suggested lawmakers may believe they can manage the fallout by the time they realize the scope of what they have started, but by then it is too late to reverse course.

Pergram's central point was that the political costs of impeachment typically fall hardest not on the target of the effort but on the party orchestrating it. His column also previewed Congress's broader agenda upon returning to Washington, noting that lawmakers face legislative issues including artificial intelligence policy, college sports and cryptocurrency regulation ahead of the midterms.

Summarized by PolitiKool from Fox News’s reporting. Read the full story at Fox News →