McConnell backs resolution condemning House impeachment inquiry

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is throwing his support behind a resolution condemning the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

Senate Republicans are expected to introduce a “Graham-McConnell” resolution later Thursday “condemning the House of Representatives closed door, illegitimate impeachment inquiry,” per a release from Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) office. 

{mosads}McConnell confirmed to reporters that he will back the measure, saying, “Obviously I support it.” 

Graham said earlier this week that he was planning to introduce the resolution, telling Fox News’s Sean Hannity that it “puts the Senate on record condemning the House.”

It’s unclear if the resolution will come up for a vote. It would allow GOP senators, who have grown increasingly frustrated with the House, to formalize their opposition. But it would also likely fail to get the 60 votes needed to pass.

McConnell and his caucus have increasingly railed against the House impeachment inquiry process, which includes near-daily closed-door depositions with current and former officials. 

“Overturning the results of an American election requires the highest level of fairness and due process, as it strikes at the core of our democratic process,” McConnell wrote in a tweet earlier this month.

“So far, the House has fallen far short by failing to follow the same basic procedures that it has followed for every other President in our history,” he added. 

Trump and his allies have pressed for House Democrats to hold a vote formally launching the impeachment inquiry, something Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says isn’t required under the rules.

But Republicans argue a formal vote would give them more leeway to call their own witnesses, and put swing-district Democrats on the record.