GOP senators up for re-election are noticeably avoiding interviews as impeachment talk grows


There's another I-word Republican senators are staying away from: interviews.
As the impeachment inquiry into President Trump presses forward, GOP senators have faced inevitable questions of whether they support the investigation. Some Republicans have vocally opposed the measure, but others, namely those expecting a tough re-election next year, have avoided answering altogether, The New York Times reports.
On Thursday, Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) introduced a measure condemning the House's impeachment inquiry and telling the House it needs to formally vote to proceed. The measure doesn't oppose the impeachment proceedings outright, and there's a reason for that: It was orchestrated so Republicans can show their base they're backing Trump "even as they refrained from defending his actions," the Times writes.
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.
Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) is among those supporting the measure, but she's not bucking impeachment altogether. The governor-appointed senator is facing a remarkably well-funded Democratic opponent in Mark Kelly, and pivoted from impeachment questions to health care when confronted by reporters recently, the Times says. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) did the same, while Sen. Cory Gardner (D-Colo.), who has been challenged by a bevvy of well-known Democrats, walked away from an interview altogether when the question turned to impeachment. And Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who's had weak re-election chances since she backed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, has spun by saying she doesn't want to "jeopardize her impartiality as a juror" if Trump's impeachment reaches a Senate trial, the Times explains.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
June 29 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the AI genie, Iran saving face, and bad language bombs
-
A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean
The Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
How drone warfare works
The Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from