Analyst: Rep. Himes raises national profile at impeachment inquiry hearings

Rep. Jim Himes, a Democrat representing Connecticut’s 4th District, has become one of the most visible and persistent questioners this week during the impeachment inquiry.
This week, President Donald Trump's ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland implicated him in a scheme to shake down Ukraine in exchange for political favors. He also implicated the president’s inner circle.
Southern Connecticut State political analyst Kevin Buterbaugh thinks this week’s findings won't be good for President Trump.
"I think this will hurt him, and hurt him rather significantly,” he told News 12. "As [Sondland] said, there was a very clear quid pro quo. There was, ‘if you want to meet with the president, you have to agree to an investigation of the Bidens.’"
Buterbaugh believes Rep. Himes “raised his national profile significantly” through his questioning of witnesses in such a public forum.
However, Buterbaugh wonders whether Americans are already tuning out.
“I think there's a larger number of Americans that are not watching and actually don't care,” says Buterbaugh.
Even though the impeachment hearings were on almost every channel, Sondland's testimony only drew 12 million viewers. The biggest ratings went to Fox News.