Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell’s public criticism of former President Trump over the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol is revealing sharp divisions within the party as Republicans shift into the Biden era.
“What we need right now is for Sen. McConnell to unequivocally say that the second impeachment of Donald Trump after he leaves office is not only unconstitutional, it is bad for the country, and stand up and fight back,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said during an interview with Fox News.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) didn’t mention McConnell by name but warned during a Fox interview that if “Republicans, particularly Republican leadership, goes along with this impeachment, they’ll destroy the party.”
The warning shots come on the heels of McConnell’s strongest criticism of Trump, when he used his first floor speech this week to respond to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by saying Trump and others “provoked” the mob.