Why Hope Hicks’ small hearing in Congress means so much

It can be difficult sometimes to move focus from the circus of Donald Trump’s re-election campaign or how the Democrats are shaping up for 2020 to the less glamorous but important day-to-day workings on Capitol Hill.

But if we want to keep across what the White House is doing, and whether congress is doing its job, we have to look at government spats. The division and in-fighting can be difficult to stomach sometimes, but it is important.

Take for example the questioning of former White House official Hope Hicks on Wednesday. Trump’s White House has exerted executive privilege in order to prevent Hicks from talking about her time working around the Oval Office – but Hicks was mentioned a number of times in Robert Mueller’s Russia report, and the Democrats demanded a hearing because of that.

The hearing was held behind closed doors, with a transcript coming afterwards, but Democrats in Congress such as Ted Lieu were happy to tweet about the questioning and the “farce” of objections from the White House.

“I got Hope Hicks to answer one question about her tenure at the White House. I asked if on her first day, ‘was it a sunny day or a cloudy day?’” Lieu tweeted, and added that only the transcript would hold the answer. Instances like this, along with the sight of dozens of journalists lined up in the corridor asking questions of those entering and leaving the chamber, show democracy in action. It’s vital they aren’t taken away.

The question of whether to instigate impeachment hearings over Trump’s possible obstruction of Mueller’s investigation is no closer to being answered, with leading Democrat Nancy Pelosi ruling it out again for now despite the backing of dozens of members of Congress within her own party. With the Republicans and Democrats at loggerheads and Trump denying obstruction altogether at his relaunch rally, seemingly trivial hearings like Hicks’ become far more important.

Hick’s testimony may not yield any great answers to the looming questions now, but reporting on it helps keep the door open to further moves – which could prove vitally important in the long run.

Yours,

Chris Stevenson

Senior US correspondent