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- GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania said Saturday said that President Donald Trump has “committed impeachable offenses.”
- During an interview on Fox News, Toomey said that he was unsure if the Senate would move on any articles of impeachment passed by the Democratic-led House of Representatives before Trump’s term ends in less than two weeks.
- Toomey is retiring after the 2022 midterms elections.
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GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, who has ardently supported the validity of the 2020 presidential election results, said on Saturday that President Donald Trump has “committed impeachable offenses.”
During an interview on Fox News, Toomey, a two-term Pennsylvania senator who is retiring after the 2022 midterm elections, said he was unsure if the Senate would move on any articles of impeachment passed by the Democratic-led House of Representatives before Trump’s term ends in less than two weeks.
“I don’t know what they are going to send over and one of the things that I’m concerned about, frankly, is whether the House would completely politicize something,” he said.
He continued: “I do think the president committed impeachable offenses, but I don’t know what’s going to land on the Senate floor if anything.”
—Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) January 9, 2021
Toomey serves as one of the senior Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee.
The Jan. 6 siege at the Capitol, which represented the building’s worst breach since 1814, forced members of Congress to temporarily halt the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory until the complex was cleared.
Trump, who has been widely criticized for his involvement in the protests aimed at contesting the 2020 election results, as well as the aftermath of the riots, is seeing cracks appear in the once impenetrable base of support among the congressional GOP.
Toomey joins other congressional Republicans in rebuking Trump, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who wants the president to resign, along with Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who would like to see Vice President Mike Pence and Cabinet members use the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office.
GOP Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska said during a CBS interview on Friday that he would “definitely consider whatever articles” the House might end up passing.
“I believe the president has disregarded his oath of office,” Sasse said. “He swore an oath to the American people to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. He acted against that.”
On Friday, GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky passed around a memo revealing that a Senate impeachment trial could not begin until Jan. 20, which is also Biden’s inauguration day, unless every senator agrees to begin a session beforehand.
This post has been updated.
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