Senate Republicans Draw Battle Lines, Prepare To Shoot Down Any Impeachment Charges

Amid increased tensions between both parties due to the push from some high-level Democrats to pass articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, Senate Republicans recently drew a line in the metaphorical sand.

According to The Hill, South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham — who also serves as the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman — made clear what would happen should House Democrats be successful at drafting articles of impeachment.

“I think it would be disposed of very quickly,” Sen. Graham said. He added, “If it’s based on the Mueller report, or anything like that, it would be quickly disposed of.”

Graham’s vow to crush an impeachment attempt is a strong one — as his colleague and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell holds the Constitutional power to set the parameters of an impeachment trial against the President.

A successful impeachment would require 67, or two-thirds of Senate votes. The GOP currently has a majority 53-47 in the Senate, with Trump ally and Vice President Mike Pence as a tie-breaker, if need be. Short of unseen circumstances, at this point, an impeachment trial would almost certainly be brief and concluded in quick fashion.

Donald Trump's impeachment trial "would be disposed of very quickly," says Lindsey Graham https://t.co/KVj60ATDCh

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) May 28, 2019

That’s especially true if McConnell receives the predicted amount of support from his Senate allies.

Sen. Thom Tillis — who’s also on the Judiciary Committee — emphasized that point, casting no doubt that a trial would receive minimum floor time.

“Why on earth would we give a platform to something that I judge as a purely political exercise?” Tillis said. “We have to perform our constitutional duty, but if people think that we’re going to try and create a theater that could give you the perception that this is a matter that rises to the level of Watergate, that’s nonsense,” he added.

Tillis also doubled down on Senate Republicans who vow they would make certain an impeachment trial would be over with as fast as possible, explaining that he refuses to reward what he calls “bad behavior” from House Democrats.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who’s a member of Sen. McConnell’s leadership team, said “nothing” would happen as a result if Democrats were able to green light the impeachment proceedings in the House.

“It would be defeated. That’s why all they want to do is talk about it,” Cornyn said. “They know what the outcome would be.”

The Hill also reported that, according to national polls, a majority of Americans oppose an impeachment attempt against the President at this time, with less than 40 percent of Americans in favor of it.

Should an impeachment trial be set, conservative-leaning Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts would preside over it and would rule on all questions of evidence. However, Senate Republicans have the power to appeal any of his decisions with a majority vote, if need be.