Pence: Barr's Refusal to Testify Not a 'Constitutional Crisis'

Attorney General William Barr's refusal to testify before the House Judiciary Committee last week doesn't mark a "constitutional crisis," despite Democrats' claims, Vice President Mike Pence said Friday.

"This is not a constitutional crisis. Pence, who had represented Indiana in the House from 2001-2013, told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "This can be resolved. We'll leave it to the attorney general to work out arrangements. But it's time to dial down the rhetoric on Capitol Hill."

Barr refused to testify before the committee because Democrats had agreed to allow him to be questioned by committee staff and attorneys rather than by members themselves. Pence said Friday that as a committee member for more than a decade under both Democratic and Republican presidents, he cannot remember any time when a cabinet member was questioned by committee staff.

Pence, who was interviewed in Minnesota, said he is touring the state to talk about trade, manufacturing, farming, and the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

"We have the USMCA that levels the playing field for American manufacturing, for American steel," he said, "and it's absolutely essential that the American people let the Congress know that they need to enact the USMCA this year. "

He also commented about the Senate Intelligence Committee's subpoena of Donald Trump Jr., saying that for the past years, the Trump administration has fully cooperated with special counsel Robert Mueller, and it's "frustrating to millions of Americans" that the investigations are continuing.

Pence further Friday called for House Democratic leadership to remove freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., from her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee after he comments about Israel and for her blaming the United States for the problems in Venezuela.

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