Marc Short: Pelosi Holding Up USMCA Is 'Quid Pro Quo'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has put a vote on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement on hold depending on how several Democratic representatives from swing states vote on impeachment, ironically creating a quid pro quo situation of her own, Marc Short, the chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence, claimed Tuesday. 

"This deal was negotiated over a year ago," Short told Fox News' Dana Perino while being interviewed during a break in impeachment inquiry testimony. "It's been sitting in Congress...basically, it's been held down because there are 31 democrats in (President Donald) Trump districts, in essence, to say if you go along with impeachment, I'll give you the USMCA vote."

And Democrats talk about quid pro quo and bribery in connection with Trump's actions, said Short, but "there's nothing like that, saying I'm not going to give you a vote on USMCA until I get your vote on impeachment."

Meanwhile, the "government runs out of money" on Thursday, meaning another continuing resolution will need to be passed.

"Also in that bill, there is $250 million in funding for Ukraine," said Short. "How about the irony that there's more funding being tied up for Ukraine because Democrats are pursuing a relentless, meaningless impeachment inquiry that the American people know is a fraud."

He also commented in testimony offered by Jennifer Williams, the career State Department employee detailed to Pence's office as a Russia expert, and asked why she didn't raise concerns about the July 25 call between Trump and Ukraine's president if she had concerns. 

"She said that she found the call unusual, yet she never raised any concerns with her supervisor, she never raised any concerns with me as chief of staff, she never raised any concerns with the vice president," said Short. "Once again, there's nothing that's happened here that's wrong. We have basically impeachment in pursuit of a crime."

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