Jonathan Martin @jmartNYT
NEW: McConnell believes Trump committed impeachable offenses, believes the attack on Capitol gives Rs a chance to purge the president
and...
McCarthy has asked colleagues if he should urge Trump to resign, is open to a censure
w @maggieNYT >
www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/us/mitch-mcconnell-trump-impeachment.html
McConnell is said to be pleased about impeachment, believing it will be easier to purge Trump from the G.O.P.
Jonathan Martin @jmartNYT
ALSO: Biden called McConnell yesterday and asked if Senate could dual track impeachment trial and cabinet confirmations.
Far from telling Biden he would not discuss the impeachment, McConnell said he would check with the parliamentarian and get back to Biden.
McCarthy has cycled through just what can be done about Trump, approached Hoyer about a censure and said he could deliver a lot of R votes.
But the deal was: Democrats had to back off impeachment.
This is the thinking in McConnellworld — now is the time to make the move, w Trump staggered
Liam Donovan @LPDonovan
As stunning as Rs moving against Trump would be, the alternative is that he sticks around and makes their lives/careers hell for the next four years (at least.) If that's going to happen anyway, a clean break looks pretty attractive. Now or never.
Jonathan Martin @jmartNYT
A Senate Republican aide tells me he thinks there were about 20, give or take, Republicans who were open to a conviction
Before our story on McConnell
From the article:
At the same time, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the minority leader and one of Mr. Trump’s most steadfast allies in Congress, has asked other Republicans whether he should call on Mr. Trump to resign in the aftermath of the riot at the Capitol last week, according to three Republican officials briefed on the conversations.
While Mr. McCarthy has said he is personally opposed to impeachment, he and other party leaders have decided not to formally lobby Republicans to vote “no,” and an aide to Mr. McCarthy said he was open to a measure censuring Mr. Trump for his conduct. In private, Mr. McCarthy reached out to a leading House Democrat to see if the chamber would be willing to pursue a censure vote, though Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ruled it out.