The GOP purge of Trump fails to materialize. Again.

We've heard this story before

President Trump.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock)

For a brief moment on Tuesday night, it looked like there might be a cascade of Republicans abandoning President Trump and moving toward cooperating with Democrats on his impeachment, conviction, and ban from future office for his role in the sacking of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The New York Times reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell "privately" believes the president committed impeachable offenses and that the process could help "make it easier to purge Mr. Trump from the party." Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the third-ranking Republican in the House, announced her intention, in a blistering statement, to support Trump's removal from the office, along with a handful of moderates including Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Rep. Jamie Herrera-Butler (R-Wash.)

But by Wednesday morning, it was clear: With maybe a few more defectors, that was going to be the extent of the Republican rebuke of Trump in the House. Just 10 out of more than 200 GOP members of Congress ended up voting yes on impeachment, or less than 5 percent of the House's Republican caucus. Even if McConnell refuses to whip votes for acquittal in the Senate or even votes to convict, it's not clear that he can produce another 16 Republican to get to the constitutionally required two-thirds majority. For now, the relationship of most Republicans to President Trump looks unchanged. If there is a groundswell to "purge" the president from the GOP, it has yet to materialize.

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David Faris

David Faris is an associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics. He is a frequent contributor to Informed Comment, and his work has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and Indy Week.