Mitch McConnell reportedly pleased with impeachment, could open doors to GOP to convict

Amid an increasingly fractured relationship with President Donald Trump, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell could ultimately pave the way for Trump’s impeachment conviction.

McConnell is reportedly supportive of the Democrat-led impeachment effort—the first time a president has ever been impeached twice—and could vote in favor, signaling to other GOP senators that they can vote against Trump, following a massive, deadly riot at the Capitol last week.

Multiple outlets reported McConnell’s acceptance of impeachment, citing unnamed sources on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for McConnell didn’t immediately respond to Newsweek‘s request for comment about the reports. A conviction would require 67 votes in the Senate, necessitating support from some Republicans. McConnell’s backing could prompt more defections.

Shortly before the riots broke out last week, McConnell condemned Trump’s push to override certified election results that ultimately prompted the conflict.

“If this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral,” McConnell said, speaking from the Senate floor. “We’d never see the whole nation accept an election again. Every four years would bring a scramble for power at any cost.”

For much of the past four years, McConnell had been loyal to Trump, helping him get hundreds of judicial nominees approved and blocking Democratic policy priorities from the U.S. House.

But McConnell, who has been in the Senate for nearly four decades, also rebuked Trump last week after Trump supporters left a rally that the president spoke at and stormed the Capitol. The ordeal forced Vice President Mike Pence and other officials to be whisked to safe rooms.

The House has fast-tracked Trump’s impeachment for inciting the riot. It is expected to be approved Wednesday evening, but the U.S. Senate isn’t scheduled to meet again until Tuesday. With that tight time line, it’s unlikely that a Senate trial would take place before Trump leaves office and Democrats take control of the chamber January 20.

Some Republicans in the House have indicated that they will vote for impeachment, including U.S. Representative Liz Cheney, the chair of the House Republican Conference who is also daughter of the former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Cheney’s announcement prompted pushback from some of Trump’s staunch allies, who are now calling for her ouster from the leadership post.

Trump, who has been removed from Twitter since his supporters stormed the Capitol to try to stop the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s election, remains politically popular among a sprawling GOP base.

As the impeachment hearing unfolded on the U.S. House floor, the White House released a statement from the president condemning threats of possible other incidences of violence amid impeachment and Biden’s inauguration.

“That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for,” Trump said in the statement. “I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers.”