Trump Impeachment Deepens GOP Divide [View all]

[question everything]

WASHINGTON—The Capitol riot and the impeachment of President Trump have divided the GOP from the top down, with the party’s two congressional leaders, state party officials and longtime donors taking different stances on punishing the president as his term ends.

In the Senate, which must try Mr. Trump after the House’s impeachment vote Wednesday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has shown a greater impatience with Mr. Trump than his House counterparts have. Mr. McConnell, who had warned against the president’s drive to challenge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, on Wednesday declined to rule out convicting Mr. Trump. “I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate,” Mr. McConnell (R., Ky.) wrote in a message to his colleagues. Rank-and-file senators will start picking sides as early as next week, when the process of setting up a trial begins.

House Republicans largely worked to shield Mr. Trump from formal charges of inciting an insurrection at the Capitol, with Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California joining 196 Republicans in voting against impeachment, as 10 Republicans crossed the aisle to join Democrats in favor. “The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack by mob rioters,” Mr. McCarthy said on the House floor Wednesday. But he said that voting for impeachment "would further divide this nation, a vote to impeach will further fan the flames, the partisan division.”

Intraparty divisions are showing up in frays over whether to impeach Mr. Trump and how to defend him; over whether Republicans are disqualified from leadership roles if they back impeachment; and even over whether to abide by new regulations to go through magnetometers before entering the House chamber, a restriction imposed to ensure those entering aren’t carrying guns or other prohibited items.

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Still, some Republicans are warning that any drive to push Mr. Trump out of the party could have consequences. “To my Republican colleagues who legitimize this process, you are doing great damage not only to the country, the future of the presidency, but also to the party,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said in a statement on Wednesday. “The millions who have supported President Trump and his agenda should not be demonized because of the despicable actions of a seditious mob.”

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Republicans who stick with Mr. Trump could face financial consequences, as some donors steer clear of supporting them. That could affect Mr. McCarthy, whose rise in leadership has been fueled by both his allegiance to Mr. Trump and his fundraising prowess. It could also impact Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who chairs the Senate Republican campaign arm and who objected to the certification of Mr. Biden’s election.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-impeachment-deepens-gop-divide-11610581328 (subscription)