McConnell on Ukraine: It's 'laughable to think this is anywhere close to an impeachable offense'
The Senate majority leader has kept a sphynx-like pose during all manner of President Donald Trump controversies. But with an impeachment cloud settling over Washington, McConnell is revealing even less than usual.
Those comments come on the heels of McConnell allowing a nonbinding sense of the Senate resolution to pass on Tuesday that directed the Trump administration to share a whistleblower complaint about Trump’s interactions with foreign leaders with congressional intelligence committees. Trump and McConnell have developed a real partnership over the past two years that has proven durable despite Trump occasionally dinging McConnell for not repealing Obamacare or eliminating the filibuster. McConnell and Trump speak with some frequency about legislation, nominations and Senate races, and Trump often counts McConnell as a close political adviser.
Plus, McConnell knows whatever he tells his members at party meetings may go public, so he’s keeping even many in his own party on their toes. On Wednesday morning, McConnell declined to answer a question about whether the Senate will hold an impeachment trial, a gray area in the Senate’s impeachment rules. Most Republicans think the Senate would respond in some way if the House impeaches the president rather than try to ignore it.
But rank-and-file senators have been reacting on the fly, with a span of comments ranging from Mitt Romney saying he is “troubled in the extreme” by Trump bringing up Biden to Zelensky to Sen. Thom Tillis decrying “another pathetic attempt by Democrats to destroy President Trump with falsehoods.”
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