WASHINGTON — The strong reaction to President Trump’s impeachment shows the deep partisan divide in Texas, offering a hint at how the issue will play out in the expected Senate trial.
- Both Texas senators will serve as jurors in the upcoming Senate trial
- All Texas Republican lawmakers in Congress are anti-impeachment
- Sens. Cruz and Cornyn publicly defend President Trump
Both Texas GOP senators are defending Trump and brushing aside the impeachment vote in the House as partisan politics. Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, accused Democrats of taking whatever means necessary to try and oust the president after losing to him in the last election.
“They’re trying to defy the voters that supported President Trump,” Cornyn said on the Senate floor. “Impeachment is solely a political exercise.”
Cornyn said House Democrats were “re-litigating” 2016 during an impeachment process he called “bogus.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is anti-impeachment too. He labeled it a “lynch mob” with Democrats unable to cite a single criminal act ahead of the vote.
“They abandoned all of that and admitted that the evidence doesn't support all of -- all of their attacks that have happened before,” Cruz said on ABC’s "This Week" on December 15.
Both Texas senators will serve as jurors in the upcoming Senate trial, which is expected to start in the coming weeks after the House formally transmits the articles of impeachment. While Trump is expected to be acquitted in the GOP-controlled Senate, the debate over whether he should be removed from office will likely be heated.
The issue of impeachment has divided the Texas congressional delegation along partisan lines. In the House, all Texas Democrats voted to impeach the president while all of their Republican colleagues voted against the articles.
The issue will also likely play a part in Cornyn’ s re-election campaign this year with state Democrats already trying to portray him as being afraid to cross Trump and condemn his actions rather than serving as an independent voice in the Senate.
Among the controversies heading into the trial -- will Republican and Democratic senators really act as impartial jurors as opposed to political partisans? Cornyn questions how impartial lawmakers can be, especially the handful of senators running to unseat Trump in 2020.
“They have chosen a partisan path that which will absolutely suck out the oxygen in Washington,” Cornyn said of Democrats.
But Democrats argue many Republicans have already stated publicly that they plan to acquit Trump before the trial even starts.
Trump wants his day in court and a chance to defend himself against what he calls an unfair investigation. Loyal to their party, Cruz and Cornyn are ready to provide the president a robust defense.
“I think this is the beginning of the end for this show trial that we've seen in the House. It’s going to come to the Senate and we’ll have fair proceedings. And then it’s not going anywhere because the facts aren’t there,” Cruz said.
House Democrats have not officially sent the charges over to the Senate, holding off until they say the terms of the trial are fair, putting In limbo when it may actually start. There should be more clarity on that decision when Congress returns to Washington next week.