McConnell Reportedly Acknowledges in Private GOP Meeting He Lacks Votes to Block Impeachment Witnesses
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The Senate trial of President Donald Trump may hear from John Bolton, after all.
The alleged bombshell revelations from the former Trump national security advisor have scrambled the Republican defense of Trump’s impeachment and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can no longer ensure that the former presidential aide won’t be called to testify.
That’s according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal, which says McConnell admitted in a private GOP meeting that there now exists a sufficient number of Republicans willing to vote to allow witnesses to reach a simple majority in the Senate. Senate Democrats would need at least four Republicans to join any motion they put forward to call for witness testimony in Trump’s Senate trial for it to pass.
“The reports of Mr. Bolton’s account unsettled Republican senators and bolstered the odds of a successful vote to hear further witness testimony,” the Journal explained. “Several on-the-fence Republican senators said Mr. Bolton’s claims strengthened the case for further witness testimony, while the number of senators the White House believes may vote for more testimony ticked up.”
Two GOP Senators — Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Maine Sen. Susan Collins — came out on Monday as likely to vote for witnesses. Two others, Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski also possibly support witness testimony. And now, per the Journal, two other Senators, Ohio’s Rob Portman and Pennsylvania’s Pat Toomey, have begun to move into the pro-witness camp as well.
The White House has strenuously opposed the prospect of any witness testimony in Trump’s Senate trial for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, hoping to quickly wrap up the process before the president’s State of the Union address early next week.
Any Senate Republicans who defy the White House’s wishes may try to push for a compromise where both Democrats and Republicans get to call an equal number of witnesses. This opens up the prospect of the Senate calling the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, Hunter, in an attempt to attack the latter’s role working with a Ukrainian gas company.
“Toomey suggested at a closed-door Senate lunch on Monday an arrangement in which the Senate subpoena Mr. Bolton as well as a witness sought by the White House,” the Journal reported. “I think if you hear from one side, you probably ought to have a chance to hear from witnesses from the other side,” Romney reportedly said, agreeing.
