Trump is reportedly counting on Mitch McConnell to get him through impeachment inquiry


As the House's impeachment inquiry continues, President Trump is leaning on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), sometimes calling him as often as three times a day, a person with knowledge of the conversations told CNN.
Trump has been telling McConnell he needs to get Republican lawmakers to publicly support him, and those who are not loyal enough will be put on blast, CNN reports. McConnell has told a few Republicans about the calls, but has been mostly silent on the matter, the person said. During one phone call, though, McConnell made it clear to Trump that if the House votes to impeach, he will have to go through with a trial in the Senate, CNN reports. A McConnell spokesman called the story "false."
The White House on Tuesday said it will not cooperate with the inquiry, calling it "illegitimate." Several aides told CNN they believe Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is leading the impeachment strategy efforts. During private conversations with friends, Trump is constantly going back and forth on the the impeachment matter, people close to Trump said. Sometimes he says impeachment would give him a boost, but a beat later he frets that it will tarnish his legacy. Read more at CNN.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
China looms large over India and Pakistan's latest violence
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Beijing may not have had troops on the ground, but as South Asia's two nuclear powers bared their teeth over Kashmir, China eyed opportunity in its own backyard
-
Where the new Pope Leo XIV stands on various issues
The Explainer The first American pontiff is expected to continue some of his predecessor's work
-
What's wrong with America's air traffic control systems?
Today's Big Question The radios and radar keep going out at Newark International
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'