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5. GOP jitters are growing over Trump
From CNN Chief National Correspondent John King:
Most Republican revolts of the Trump presidency have been limited and short-lived. So it is dangerous to look too far ahead as we try to understand the current GOP anger and frustration. But this past week was different -- the term "turning point" was used by several Republicans.
One relayed this: At a dinner Wednesday night, GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell "shot down" a suggestion that perhaps Republicans at some point might have to consider censuring Trump. "He shot it down hard," was the exact description relayed.
But McConnell did tell Senate Republicans in their weekly meeting that they needed to prepare for an impeachment trial. The GOP cracks when it comes to impeachment are very limited, but still worth tracking.
Republican Rep. Francis Rooney of Florida this past week told CNN, "I don't think you can rule anything out until you know all the facts." Rooney also decided this past week not to seek reelection, which could him more of a wild card in the weeks ahead.
Former GOP Gov. John Kasich of Ohio said he would vote yes on impeachment if he were in the House. Kasich was in the House back when President Bill Clinton was impeached. Kasich, though, is a constant Trump critic, so reading too much into his tough criticism would be unwise. But, again, it is worth tracking any Republican dissent or wavering on the impeachment question.
The President's abrupt decision Saturday night to cancel plans to hold the next G7 summit at his resort in Florida will quiet some of the new Republican criticism. Hours before that President's retreat, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, spoke for most of her colleagues in saying "with all of the stuff that's going on in Washington, DC, right now, why would you just invite more controversy."
That "stuff" as Murkowski put it, also includes searing Republican criticism of the President's decision to abandon the Kurds in Syria. "A grave strategic mistake," in the words of Leader McConnell. "A blood stain in the annals of American history," to Utah Repubilcan Sen. Mitt Romney. And "the biggest mistake of his presidency," in the words of South Carolina Republican and Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham.
MORE ON THE IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY FROM CNN
Impeachment, Syria and the Doral G7 dust-up are very different things. But many frustrated Republicans see a connection -- and it is this concern at the core of the growing GOP jitters: A President who can't contain his worst impulses, and a White House staff not up to the challenges.
The Mick Mulvaney briefing was cited by many Republicans in the exchanges of recent days. In that one appearance, he disclosed how the President personally intervened to get Trump Doral on the list of the G7 summit, defended Rudy Giuliani's role in administration Ukraine policy and admitted a quid pro quo in withholding aid to Ukraine unless it investigated a long debunked conspiracy theory about 2016 presidential campaign interference. Mulvaney later denied saying what he said, and insisted there was no quid pro quo.
But for Republicans worried about Giuliani, the President's personal lawyer, meddling and/or concerned about the White House's ability to steer through the impeachment storm, the briefing was a disaster and a warning.
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