Joe Biden Risks Impeachment If Democrats Lose Both House And Senate
Democrats could be facing major losses in this year’s crucial midterm elections as Republicans aim to take back the House of Representatives and the Senate in November.
If President Joe Biden‘s party loses control of both chambers, he could end up facing impeachment after several Republicans indicated that GOP majorities would move in that direction.
In January, Republican Senator Ted Cruz said there would be “multiple grounds” for impeaching Biden, while in April, Republican Representative Ken Buck told a virtual meeting that the House Judiciary Committee would “hold the hearings to determine whether impeachment is appropriate. We’ll vote on impeachment. And then it will be presented to the full House.”
A University of Massachusetts Amherst poll published in May found that 68 percent of Republicans and 66 percent of conservatives wanted Biden to be impeached if Republicans take the House, while 53 percent of Republicans believed a GOP-led House would impeach him.
Articles of impeachment can be passed by a simple majority vote in the House but a president can only be removed by a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate. This has never happened and it appears unlikely Republicans will have the necessary number of seats in 2023.
Political experts who spoke to Newsweek said it was likely Republicans could consider impeachment but they could pay a political price if they attempted it.
Seven Republican Rebels Who Voted To Convict Feel Trumpists’ Fury
Immediate backlash from powerful rightwingers reveals the strength of Trumps grip on the Republican party
The seven Republican senators who broke ranks by voting to convict former president Donald Trump at his impeachment trial faced immediate hostility and criticism from fellow conservatives revealing the potentially high cost of opposing Trumpism within the party.
These senators North Carolinas Richard Burr, Louisianas Bill Cassidy, Maines Susan Collins, Alaskas Lisa Murkowski, Utahs Mitt Romney, Nebraskas Ben Sasse, and Pennsylvanias Pat Toomey brought the total number of guilty votes to 57. That was not nearly enough to secure a conviction, but easily enough to ensure instant attack from fellow Republicans and others on the right.
The reaction was a powerful illustration of the strength of Trumps grip on the Republican party even though he is out of office.
Lets impeach RINOs from the Republican Party!!! Trumps son and conservative favorite Donald Trump Jr said on Twitter, using the insulting acronym for Republicans In Name Only.
The instant backlash came from powerful rightwing media figures also.
Conservative Fox News host Laura Ingraham : Prediction: none of the Republicans who voted in the affirmative today will speak at the 2024 GOP convention.
For Cassidy, there was almost instant retribution in his own state. Jeff Landry, the Republican attorney general of Louisiana, tweeted: Senator Bill Cassidys vote is extremely disappointing.
Opinionwhy The Gop Senate Vote Against Impeachment Dooms The Party
Hamilton clearly recognized that impeachment could strip a public official of his fame and rights as a citizen to hold federal office, while a criminal trial could result in imprisonment and fines.
But because 45 Republican senators have chosen to avoid Trump’s fury by claiming that the Senate has no jurisdiction to try him after Jan. 20, they advanced the prospect that Trump’s actions should and will be judged on the merits in a federal criminal trial.
Our democracy demands an accounting and ultimately a condemnation of Trump’s incitement of a violent mob to attack the Capitol.
Impeachment, though, was designed to serve that purpose: An honest Senate verdict based on the evidence of Trump’s conduct in provoking the mob’s invasion of the Capitol which endangered the lives of senators, Vice President Mike Pence, House members and others surely would result in a conviction, which would indelibly mark Trump’s actions as illegitimate and a violation of his oath of office. It would satisfy the pressing need for official action to decry that violation. It would be a warning to future autocrats against engaging in similar efforts to cripple our democracy.
And barring Trump from running for president again in 2024 would be a suitable penalty one set out by the Constitution.
Senators ducked their responsibility once before in the impeachment trial of former Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876 .
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Why Purging Trump Might Not Be Possible
It must be noted that a significant portion of the American electorate still supports Trump and his policies. According to FiveThirtyEight, about 42% of Americans do not support impeachment. And among Republicans, just 15% say they want him removed from office.
Whoever leads the Republican Party post-Trump will need to consider how they will maintain the rabid support of his base, while working to regain more moderate voters who defected from the party in the 2020 election.
The reason McConnell is reportedly said to be considering voting to convict Trump is that is would make it easier to purge him from the party.
But purging Trump will be difficult. Even without Twitter, the power Trump wields is immense. The fear among many Republicans is that he can encourage primary challenges to any incumbents he feels have wronged him.
Hes done this many times before. In 2018, Trump strongly endorsed Brian Kemp in his successful campaign for governor of Georgia, but when Kemp rejected his claims of election fraud in November, Trump announced he was ashamed of having supported him. Trump loyalists are already looking for a primary challenger to him.
Trump has also called for primary challenges to Republican Ohio governor Mike Dewine and John Thune, the number two Republican in the Senate.
Letters To The Editor Sept 26 2021
A group of House Republicans have filed articles of impeachment against President Biden over his handling of the immigration crisis at the southern border and his chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to a report.
Rep. Bob Gibbs , who is leading the effort, said Biden violated his oath of office, in the three articles he filed on Tuesday.
Yesterday, I filed three articles of impeachment against President Biden based on what I believe to be clear violations of his duties as president, .
He is co-sponsor of the articles along with Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Brian Babin and Randy Weber of Texas.
His willful negligence of the border crisis is a failure to maintain and defend American sovereignty. Bidens attempts to extend a federal eviction moratorium despite the Supreme Courts warning and his own admission that he has no power to do so is a blatant and intentional action that violates the separation of powers, Gibbs continued.
Gibbs claimed in the articles that Biden released thousands of migrants into the US without ordering them to appear in court for an immigration hearing on a specific date.
Biden also allowed migrants who tested positive for the coronavirus to enter the US, Gibbs said. He said Biden extended the eviction moratorium despite a ruling by the Supreme Court urging him to get congressional approval first.
Gibbs filed the articles because he was prompted by Bidens debacle in Afghanistan.
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More: Democrats Blast The Party For Spotlighting Challenger To Republican Who Voted To Impeach Trump
In her interview with ABC News, Herrera Beutler would not say whether she would support McCarthy for speaker should Republicans take the House. And while she has largely stayed clear of commenting on Trump or the Capitol riot since her impeachment vote, Herrera Beutler also declined to say whether she would vote for Trump should he run for president again.
“The next 24 hours, the only thing I’m focusing on, honestly, is my race,” she said. “Right now, there isn’t an election in 2024. There’s one in 2022.”
Across the state, Newhouse faces one Democrat and six Republicans, including Loren Culp, a former police chief and GOP candidate who refused to concede his 2020 race against Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee.
The Washington incumbents have largely avoided mentioning their votes to impeach Trump while on the campaign trail, opting instead to zero-in on local issues.
“It was a year and a half ago. I’ve been talking about it for over a year. I feel fine, I feel good,” Newhouse told ABC News last week on Capitol Hill.
In Michigan, Meijer, who voted to impeach Trump just 10 days into his first term in Congress, faces John Gibbs, a former Trump administration official who Democrats have controversially attempted to spotlight with an ad linking him to Trump, a strategy that even some Democrats have panned.
“That is what I have run to offer. That is what I’ve done while in office,” he said.
Opinionheres The Fastest Easiest Way To Keep Trump From Ever Holding Office Again
Wednesdays opening argument exposed a president who gleefully ratcheted up his acid rhetoric to the point of violent insurrection, and a Republican Party mostly unwilling to face the terrible cost of their attempts to undermine the integrity of our recent election. The GOPs blindness isnt merely symbolic: When footage was played of rioters reading Trumps tweets through a megaphone, multiple Republicans turned away rather than accept what their party enabled. The impeachment prosecution means GOP senators can no longer feign ignorance.
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These Are The Reasons Republicans Have Given For Questioning The Impeachment Trial
There are a couple reasons Republicans have given to explain their stances on impeachment so far. Among those whove pushed back on the effort, some have raised questions about the constitutionality of the trial itself since Trump is no longer president, while others argue that moving forward with the process is bad for the countrys unity.
Sen. Rand Paul , in forcing the Senate vote on the trials constitutionality, revealed widespread Republican concerns regarding the impeachment process. The Senate lacks constitutional authority to conduct impeachment proceedings against a former president, Sen. Tom Cotton previously said in a statement. The Founders designed the impeachment process as a way to remove officeholders from public office not an inquest against private citizens.
As Voxs Ian Millhiser has explained, the majority of legal scholars believe the trial is constitutional, though the precedent for it is hazy: In 1876, the majority of the Senate opted to move forward with a trial for Secretary of War William Belknap even though hed already resigned but he was not convicted, and many who declined to do so cited questions about constitutionality.
Republicans, however, have framed the proceedings as a slippery slope to using impeachment for political revenge against a private citizen and questioned whether barring Trump from federal office would be undemocratic.
Republicans Who Back An Impeachment Inquiry Can Save The Country And The Gop
The 1970s were not good for the Republican Party.
The Watergate break-in of 1972 and the ensuing scandal that engulfed the Nixon administration did not end when the president was forced from office two years later. Instead, the midterms of that year saw the fallout cost Republicans four Senate seats and 49 House seats. The GOP wouldnt see losses in the House on that scale again until 2018.
Because the Republican Party had separated itself from Nixon, it could spend its wilderness years forming a new identity.
And after Nixon resigned in 1974, the not-very-charismatic Gerald Ford filled in through the end of his term. Ford then lost to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election, giving rise to an administration that conservatives still remember as something akin to the Dark Ages .
But because the Republican Party had separated itself from Nixon, it could spend its wilderness years forming a new identity. In 1980, infused with fresh energy and led by Ronald Reagan, the Republican Party returned to power, and conservatism became the dominant force in American politics until the financial crisis of 2008.
Ditching Nixon proved to be in the best long-term interests of the party. Abandoning Donald Trump will, as well. The country once again needs a revitalized GOP. Trumpism needs to be exorcized from the party of Lincoln and Reagan.
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Key Republicans To Pay Attention To
- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
- The Kentucky senator remains increasingly influential over his caucus. If he voted to convict Trump, it would be a seismic development that could open the door for other Republicans to vote the same way.
- McConnell has not completely ruled out the possibility of voting to convict Trump. He’s made no secret of his disdain for the former president since the insurrection. The Washington Post reported that he never wants to speak to the former president again, and The New York Times reported that McConnell believes Trump committed impeachable offenses.
- He has remained poised during the impeachment trial, and hasn’t shared any opinions on Trump’s defense or the House impeachment managers’ presentation.
A New Poll Reveals How Most Republicans Feel About Trump Involvement In The Future Of The Party
SO, theyre finally telling the truth eh?
According to a new poll 75% of Republicans want President Trump to have a big role in The GOP going forward.
This is WONDERFUL news, and it coincides with other polls which indicated that 70% of those polled would join a newly led Trump party.
The GOP leadership better wake up and smell the coffee on this one.
They need to take a hint and read the room, and stop being so wishy-washy when it comes to anything Trump related.
Check it out:
3 out of 4 Republicans want to see former #PresidentTrump play a big role in #GOP 68% of Americans say Trump didnt do enough to stop insurrection
Quinnipiac University Poll
President Trumps popularity keeps rising. Hell go down as BEST president ever, despite 24/7 attacks by unhinged Democrats and leftists.
Fox News reported:
OPINION TODAYSupport for Third Political Party at High Point … Impeachment trial solidified views on Trump conviction … 3 Out Of 4 Republicans Want To See Trump Play A Big Role In GOP … The historical ties between pandemics and extremism … & more:
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The Partisan Divide On Witnesses Is Widening
On Tuesday night, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer forced a series of votes on whether to subpoena the Trump administration and State Department for more documents, and whether to compel top aides to testify. And while those efforts failed, the topic of whether new witnesses should be called is likely to come up again after House Democrats and Trumps legal team present their arguments.
As in our previous survey, we found that a majority of Americans still support hearing new witnesses and testimony, while 37 percent want to keep the focus solely on the evidence introduced in the House hearings. But although the top line number hasnt really shifted, Democrats and Republicans have become much more polarized over the past couple of weeks on this issue. In late December, 65 percent of Democrats and 48 percent of Republicans supported bringing in new witnesses. But now the share of Democrats who want new witnesses has risen to 74 percent, while the share of Republicans who say the same has fallen to 41 percent.
Republican voters swift change of heart on this issue could make it politically easier for Senate Republicans to vote against calling new witnesses, which remains one of the big open questions in the trial. Moderate senators like Maines Susan Collins may still feel pressure to support bringing in new witnesses, but increasingly, rank-and-file Republicans seem to be just fine with a rapid trial that includes no new evidence or testimony.
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Republican senators’ shirking their responsibility to judge Trump’s actions on the merits has consequences consequences Trump himself may not like. The focus after an impeachment trial that fails to provide the accountability Americans deserve will shift to the even more divisive prospect of a criminal prosecution of Trump for conspiracy to engage in an insurrection.
And those Republican senators, having failed in their constitutional duty to judge the former president on his conduct rather than his party affiliation, will have unwittingly assigned their responsibility to a federal criminal trial.
Michael Conway was counsel for the House Judiciary Committee in the impeachment inquiry of President Richard Nixon in 1974. In that role, he assisted in drafting the committee’s final report to the House in support of the three articles of impeachment adopted by the committee. Conway is a graduate of Yale Law School, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a retired partner of Foley & Lardner LLP in Chicago.
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Republicans Who Voted To Impeach Trump Face Their Moment Of Reckoning
Primaries over the next three weeks feature two House Republicans who have leaned into their vote and two who have largely ignored it.
07/27/2022 09:23 AM EDT
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GOP Rep. Dan Newhouse could have had an open invitation to appear on national TV since his January 2021 vote to impeach Donald Trump. But he eschewed any chance to raise his profile or pad his fundraising likely hoping that staying quiet would offer a firmer path to reelection.
The Washington Republican is part of a small cohort of impeachment-supporting House Republicans running for reelection this year. But the group has split in two over how to address that vote embrace it, or largelyact like it didnt happen.
Now, four of them will go through primaries over the next month: Newhouse, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Rep. Peter Meijer on Aug. 2 and Rep. Liz Cheney in Aug. 16. The contests that will reveal whether either strategy can help them outrun the wrath of the former president and his base.
I try to focus on those things that are important today and the issues in my district. If it comes up, I dont shy away from it, Newhouse said of his impeachment vote. But theres a lot of things that are going on. People are trying to tear down our dams our agricultural industry has a lot of challenges Inflation prices of everything has gone through the roof.
Rep. Dan Newhouse faces a primary on Aug. 2.|Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
That was like a slap in the face, he said.
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