Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn warned on Saturday that Donald Trump’s second impeachment could lead to the process of ex-Democratic presidents if Republicans retake Congress in two years.
Trump this month became the first US president to be impeached twice, after the Democratic-controlled House, with the support of 10 Republicans, voted to accuse him of inciting insurrection because of the attack on the Capitol by his supporters on January 6, which left five people dead.
Trump failed to undo his election defeat and Joe Biden was sworn in as president this week.
After a brief moment of bipartisan sentiment in which members of both parties condemned the unprecedented attack on Congress, as they met to formalize Biden’s victory, several Senate Republicans are opposing Trump’s trial, which may lead to a vote that blocks him from his future position.
“If it is a good idea to impeach and try former presidents, how about former Democratic presidents when Republicans win a majority in 2022?” Cornyn, a 19-year-old Senate veteran who last year tried to distance himself from Trump when it looked like his chair was at risk, tweeted to majority leader Chuck Schumer.
“Think about it and we will do what is best for the country.”
Democrats hold a narrow majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate, but it is common for a president’s party to lose seats in elections two years after a presidential race. Impeachment begins in the Chamber. The Senate organizes any trial.
Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell said the crowd in the Capitol coup was “provoked” by Trump – who told his supporters to march on Congress and “fight like hell”. Other Senate Republicans say that trying Trump after he stepped down would be unconstitutional and further divide the country.
There are also concerns on both sides of the corridor that the trial could divert attention from Biden’s legislative agenda. Schumer, who became the majority leader this week, tweeted on Friday that the Senate would confirm Biden’s cabinet, approve a new Covid-19 relief package and conduct Trump’s impeachment trial.
The trial is expected to take place in the second week of February.