Republican leader in Senate doesn't rule out voting in favor of convicting Donald Trump in political trial
In a statement, Mitch McConnell said that "even though the press is full of speculation," he has not yet "made a final decision" regarding what will be his position in the process in which the representative is accused of "inciting insurrection"
U.S. Senate Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell did not brazenly vote in favor of convicting Donald Trump in the political trial passed Wednesday by the House of Representatives.
In a statement, McConnell said that "even though the press is full of speculation," he has not yet "made a final decision" regarding what will be his position in the process in which the representative is accused of "inciting insurrection." "I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate," he said.
This was the first time the mighty Republican has left open the possibility of cons using the outgoing representative in public. The statement was issued hours after The New York Times reported that McConnell has privately shown himself in favor of impeachment, that he is being promoted by Democrats as a result of his rolein last Wednesday's Capitol assault.
The medium further indicates that McConnell believes that a possible dismissal of the president will be able to help purge the Republican Party of Trump's followers, and that the representative has committed enough offenses to be forsaled to leave his post. The version was also reported by CNN.
McConnell, considered a partisan Republican but also a Senate defender, spoke strongly last week against Trump's pressure on Congress to overturn biden's victory certification. This month, with the two defeats in the election to elect Georgia's representatives in the upper house, it was confirmed that he will lose the position of majority leader: he will become the leader of the Republican minority, as Democrats managed to reach 50 seats - half the total - and will have Vice President Kamala Harris vote to unpack in his favor.
On Tuesday, Trump was combative and denied responsibility for the violence of his supporters at the Capitol.
McConnell's position, according to the New York Times, is joined by that of The Leader of Republicans in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, so far one of Trump's greatest allies among lawmakers. Although he has not openly spoken out in favor of the president's "impeachment," he has been asking his party colleagues if they think he should ask the representative to resign.
McCarthy has said he is not in favor of the political trial, but because he considers it "divisive," rather than the innocence of the representative. Moreover, he and other Republican leaders - McConnell among them - have decided not to pressure their party mates to oppose this formal process. An employee of the congressman has told the New York media that he is willing to pass a measure to censor Trump's behavior, which would nonetheless have no tangible consequences for the outgoing representative.
These stances by the two leading Republican figures in the US legislative chambers, for now expressed in private, also reflect the tense political landscape facing the Trump party following the Assault of the Capitol in which five people died, while images of the chaos unleashed in Washington continue to be published.
Despite these views of Republican leaders who have leaked to the media, neither McConnell nor McCarthy have publicly called for the resignation of the president and have not openly agreed that he would be subject to what would be the second political trial of his term.
So far, a total of three Republican lawmakers have confirmed that they will vote in favor of Trump's impeachment: Adam Kizinger, Illinois Congressman Liz Cheney, Wyoming Congressman (number three republicans in the House of Representatives), and John Katko, Congressman for New York.
Although support for now is insufficient, especially in the Senate where two-thirds are needed for a conviction, the positions mark a change from what was experienced a year ago. No House Republican supported the charge against Trump in his previous political trial in December 2019, and only one party senator, Mitt Romney, voted against him. The president was then acquitted of withholding financial aid to force Ukraine to investigate alleged corruption of its political rival Biden.
U.S. Senate Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell did not brazenly vote in favor of convicting Donald Trump in the political trial passed Wednesday by the House of Representatives.
In a statement, McConnell said that "even though the press is full of speculation," he has not yet "made a final decision" regarding what will be his position in the process in which the representative is accused of "inciting insurrection." "I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate," he said.
This was the first time the mighty Republican has left open the possibility of cons using the outgoing representative in public. The statement was issued hours after The New York Times reported that McConnell has privately shown himself in favor of impeachment, that he is being promoted by Democrats as a result of his rolein last Wednesday's Capitol assault.
The medium further indicates that McConnell believes that a possible dismissal of the president will be able to help purge the Republican Party of Trump's followers, and that the representative has committed enough offenses to be forsaled to leave his post. The version was also reported by CNN.
McConnell, considered a partisan Republican but also a Senate defender, spoke strongly last week against Trump's pressure on Congress to overturn biden's victory certification. This month, with the two defeats in the election to elect Georgia's representatives in the upper house, it was confirmed that he will lose the position of majority leader: he will become the leader of the Republican minority, as Democrats managed to reach 50 seats - half the total - and will have Vice President Kamala Harris vote to unpack in his favor.
On Tuesday, Trump was combative and denied responsibility for the violence of his supporters at the Capitol.
McConnell's position, according to the New York Times, is joined by that of The Leader of Republicans in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, so far one of Trump's greatest allies among lawmakers. Although he has not openly spoken out in favor of the president's "impeachment," he has been asking his party colleagues if they think he should ask the representative to resign.
McCarthy has said he is not in favor of the political trial, but because he considers it "divisive," rather than the innocence of the representative. Moreover, he and other Republican leaders - McConnell among them - have decided not to pressure their party mates to oppose this formal process. An employee of the congressman has told the New York media that he is willing to pass a measure to censor Trump's behavior, which would nonetheless have no tangible consequences for the outgoing representative.
These stances by the two leading Republican figures in the US legislative chambers, for now expressed in private, also reflect the tense political landscape facing the Trump party following the Assault of the Capitol in which five people died, while images of the chaos unleashed in Washington continue to be published.
Despite these views of Republican leaders who have leaked to the media, neither McConnell nor McCarthy have publicly called for the resignation of the president and have not openly agreed that he would be subject to what would be the second political trial of his term.
So far, a total of three Republican lawmakers have confirmed that they will vote in favor of Trump's impeachment: Adam Kizinger, Illinois Congressman Liz Cheney, Wyoming Congressman (number three republicans in the House of Representatives), and John Katko, Congressman for New York.
Although support for now is insufficient, especially in the Senate where two-thirds are needed for a conviction, the positions mark a change from what was experienced a year ago. No House Republican supported the charge against Trump in his previous political trial in December 2019, and only one party senator, Mitt Romney, voted against him. The president was then acquitted of withholding financial aid to force Ukraine to investigate alleged corruption of its political rival Biden.