House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) reportedly indicated that the GOP will shift its strategy for defending President Trump in the impeachment inquiry.
The Washington Examiner reported that McCarthy discussed directly fighting the Democrats’ allegations during a meeting with senior Republican aides.
He reportedly added that Republicans would continue to condemn the impeachment process. {mosads}
A Republican chief of staff who attended the meeting told the Examiner that McCarthy said, “I’d rather be us than them.”
Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry last month into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine amid revelations that Trump pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to look into Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son.
Witness testimony has been conducted in closed-door meetings with both Democrats and Republicans on the House Intelligence, House Oversight and Reform, and House Foreign Affairs committees.
But Republicans have complained about the private nature of the hearings, and a group of House GOP lawmakers entered the secure room where witness testimony was scheduled last week.
Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) has defended the process. He wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter this month that it is important for the meetings to be private so witnesses can’t coordinate testimony.
McCarthy on Monday publicly called the inquiry a “sham impeachment” and said that the Democrats’ decision to hold a formal vote on the inquiry this week was “backtracking.”
“It’s been 34 days since Nancy Pelosi unilaterally declared her impeachment inquiry. Today’s backtracking is an admission that this process has been botched from the start,” he tweeted, referring to the House Speaker.
“We will not legitimize the Schiff/Pelosi sham impeachment,” he added.