“There are a lot of people upset. But the legal standard for inciting insurrection will be very difficult to prove because your words are important. And his words were reckless and his words certainly had an impact on how enthusiastic people were. But his words were also carefully selected, ”said Senator Kevin Cramer (RN.D.). “If you are going to believe his word, his words were ‘protest peacefully and patriotically’. I just think it’s a very difficult pattern to prove. “
Now, as the McConnell conference prepares to enter minority status and Facing another exhaustive impeachment trial, senators are largely being left without leadership guidance on how to overthrow Trump. The conference, now so divided over the president that he resigned, is breathing space, according to three senators who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“He’s just letting the conference cool down after certification,” said a Republican senator from McConnell. With so much uncertainty about when the trial will begin and the transfer of power to Democrats, “all we would do is have circular discussions, what if”.
Another senator said there was little member-to-member contact between the bases, as everyone has been suing in the past two weeks, including the remote possibility of 17 Republican senators joining the Democrats to condemn the president on impeachment and prevent him from holding a public office. again.
And after McConnell helped lead the defense, coordinated with the White House and declared that there was “no chance” of convicting Trump at the president’s trial just a year ago, the majority leader is keeping an open mind about the possibility of condemning the president for “inciting insurrection,” say associates. In addition to a letter from Dear Colleague that he wrote on Wednesday, there was little general instruction from the current majority leader to his members.
It is an impressive development for McConnell, going from an enthusiastic search for acquittal last January to considering the possibility of convicting the president after he leaves office. Trump’s approval ratings also fell in the wake of the deadly Capitol attack, with a survey by the Pew Research Center on Friday showing an approval rating of just 29%. That number could make it easier for some in the GOP to call Trump before the 2022 midterms.
“The way he acts between now and Wednesday will have an influence on what Republican senators do,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) Of Trump. Republicans “probably have some strategic decision to make about their party’s future. But I learned to be disappointed with my Republican colleagues. “
Very few Senate Republicans have publicly made any statement about impeachment and many have declined interviews this week. Many will say the trial is unconstitutional or impractical after Trump left office.
“I am skeptical because it is irrelevant in many ways. It is distracting, divisive and I just can’t imagine a new government wanting to keep Donald Trump on the front page while trying to fill its first 100 days with significant successes, ”said Cramer.
It is remarkable, however, how few Republicans are defending Trump on the merits. And House Democrats running the trial could create some goodwill with Republicans on the fence, keeping Trump’s second trial concise, easy to follow and basic, said an aide to a Republican senator.
Republicans are divided into as many different factions as you can imagine. There is Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who found that the House acted “appropriately” to impeach the president. And Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) Has declared Trump “has committed unreasonable offenses”, although he has not pledged to condemn him. Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is the only Republican senator who voted to condemn Trump last time.
Meanwhile, some Republicans argue that it is not constitutional to hold a trial after Trump stepped down, which is now the most likely outcome of the House’s impeachment trial. Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) said the Democrats hit “rock bottom” by impeaching the president a second time.
“The president should have said something faster to tell people that he didn’t, after they were [rioting], do not do that? Sure, ”Scott said on Hugh Hewitt’s show on Thursday. “But did he tell people to enter the Capitol? Absolutely not.”
Scott was among the Republicans who contested the election results, and some highlighted their vote amid accusations that they added fuel to Trump’s campfire. Hawley defended his role in an opinion piece in his home state, while Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) gave several interviews condemning the violence that occurred on Capitol Hill and saying that it was never his goal.
Then there is Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.), Who initially joined the electoral challenge effort and was giving a speech on Arizona’s results when the Senate went into block. He reversed the course after the attack on the Capitol, withdrew his objections and even wrote an article apologizing for appearing to question black voters in American cities.
“My intention to give a voice to oklahoma who had doubts was also never an intention to lower the voice of any black American,” said Lankford. “I should have recognized how what I said and what I did could be interpreted by many of you … I deeply regret my blindness to this perception, and for that I am sorry.”
With so many different points of view about what happened, Republicans said there would be little use in discussing things over the phone before an important week. In a rare move for the calculating McConnell, the two weeks between the attack on the Capitol and the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden became a period of reflection – not of internal party strategy.
“There is enough resentment in the general public,” said the Republican senator. “If anyone has one inside the conference, they are not expressing it.”
Andrew Desiderio contributed to this report.