Graham leads resistance to Trump ouster amid fast-moving impeachment

Sen. Lindsey Graham is leading the charge against President Donald Trump’s impeachment and removal in the Senate, even as the White House remains largely uninvolved and as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is leaving open the possibility of voting to convict the president.

Graham, who just last week said he had had “enough” of Trump’s bid to overturn the election results after he incited a deadly riot at the Capitol, has been calling around to Republican senators urging them to oppose convicting the president in the Senate’s expected impeachment trial, according to three people familiar with the effort.

Kevin Bishop, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Republican, confirmed that Graham “has been calling on his own,” adding, “Honestly we’re way ahead of any request from the White House.”

McConnell is taking a markedly different approach. In a letter to Republican senators on Wednesday, the Kentucky Republican did not immediately reject the House’s impeachment of Trump and said he plans to weigh the opposing views during the trial. He also urged his colleagues to keep their powder dry in the runup to the trial.