Senate Republicans Are Not At All Worried About Impeachment

Daily Caller

• The Daily Caller spoke with over 10 Republican senators about the Democrats’ ongoing impeachment demands. 
• Not one Republican senator expressed concern that President Donald Trump would be impeached. 
• Many of the senators we spoke with continued to criticize Democrats for moving forward without sufficient factual evidence to make a case for impeachment.

Senate Republicans do not appear to be concerned about House Democrats’ ongoing efforts to impeach President Donald Trump, with many saying even if the House were to move forward with impeachment, that there is no way the Senate would vote to impeach the president.

The Daily Caller spoke with over ten GOP senators throughout the week, who all shared their views about House Democrats’ efforts to impeach the President. Not one senator was concerned about the impeachment process, saying they are most concerned about the Democrats’ ongoing attempts to impeach Trump based on no hard evidence.

“I have to tell you, I think the House is not going to send anything over because they’re refusing to take a vote,” Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn told the Daily Caller. “What we have to realize is before Donald Trump was sworn in, they started on impeachment, that was in 2016. They tried again in 17, 18, 19, and The Mueller report,” Blackburn continued.

Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines had a very similar message when asked by the Daily Caller about impeachment, saying “Democrats have been obsessed with impeachment since before President Trump was even sworn into office.”

 

Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn speaks to supporters during an election night party November 6, 2018 in Franklin, Tennessee. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis told the Daily Caller that he is concerned, but only because there are no facts to push constantly for Trump’s impeachment. Tillis said nothing Democrats have on the President is enough to impeach him over.

“I’m more worried about the absence of facts to justify where they are to this point. Keep in mind they started the inquiry before they ever read the transcript. Two things that I’m aware of are the factual basis for the inquiry are the transcript and the whistleblower complaint, I think neither one of those rises to the level of activity that we see at this point,” Tillis said.

When asked if he thinks the Senate would vote to impeach Trump if the process continued to move forward, Tillis responded by saying, “very doubtful.”

 

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) speaks to reporters in the Senate basement before a weekly policy luncheon on April 2, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

“The majority can decide to do whatever they want to do over there. Whether they can make the case in the Senate, I’m not sure that would play well with the American people,” Republican North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr told the Daily Caller.

Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz said “it won’t succeed,” when asked about the impeachment process. When asked if he thinks the Senate could vote to impeach Trump, Cruz responded by saying “nope,” before getting in an elevator in the Capitol. The senior Texas senator, Republican John Cornyn, told the Daily caller that the process is “a complete kangaroo court” adding that “it is ridiculous.”

“Not on the basis of what we’ve seen so far. It seems absurd that they would go there,” Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy said to the Daily Caller when asked about House Democrats’ attempt to impeach Trump. 

“I’m expecting them to do something very soon. I think my Democratic friends are making a big, big mistake doing this behind closed doors and not letting the American people evaluate the evidence. But, that’s their business. But I think they’re making a big big mistake,” Republican Louisiana  Sen. John Kennedy said to the Daily Caller.

“Well, I don’t blame the president for being upset about the process,” Kennedy continued. “Number one it’s not open. Number two, the minority senators don’t have any rights in terms of being able to call in their own witnesses. Number three, the president is not even being allowed to meet his accuser, the whistleblower. Number four, the president or his lawyers are not even being allowed to cross-examine the witnesses. Number five, the House hasn’t even taken a vote to launch an impeachment proceeding. Number six, it’s all being done behind closed doors. I mean, I don’t get it.”

Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio had a different tone when asked by the Daily Caller about impeachment. “I don’t worry about things I can’t control,” When asked if he thinks any senators would vote to impeach Trump, Rubio responded by saying, “that’s impossible to answer without trial. I mean, I would be prejudging a trial. If we reach that point, we will do our jobs,” he continued.

Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski told the Daily Caller that she is confused about the way Democrats are going about impeachment.

“I’m not quite sure what the process is right now,” Murkowski said when asked if she was worried about the impeachment process. “That’s a hypothetical. That’s what I’m supposed to say to you guys when they ask things like that, you’re supposed to say, ‘I think that that’s a hypothetical and I shouldn’t engage in speculation,'” she continued, smiling.

Despite Pelosi’s early reluctance to push for impeachment, there are currently 228 Democrats who support impeachment or an impeachment inquiry. Pelosi has said she believes Trump is “goading” Democrats to impeach him because he thinks it will help him fire up his base.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) raised approximately $1 million dollars the day after Pelosi came out in favor of the impeachment of Trump for the first time after meeting with her caucus.

Democrats have continued to send congressional subpoenas to those close to Trump for documents related to the ongoing scandal regarding Trump’s phone call with the President of Ukraine and whether Trump asked him to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden in exchange for U.S. military aid to Ukraine. The House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight committees are all investigating Trump, his cabinet members, and closest allies.

Many of Pelosi’s Democratic colleagues previously pushed for impeaching Trump, including Democratic Texas Rep. Al Green, who broke with Pelosi when he vowed to force a vote to impeach Trump in late March. Green, who previously had several bills to impeach Trump overwhelmingly rejected by the House of Representatives, called for a third impeachment vote. Pelosi saidimpeachment was “just not worth it” in a March interview. Pelosi said Tuesday she will not hold a full vote to authorize an impeachment inquiry, which Trump has continued to call for.