President Donald Trump is "increasingly concerned" with Republicans who are deserting him following the violent coup attempt by his supporters.
"Shortly after becoming the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice, President Trump summoned political advisers and demanded to know more about the 10 Republicans who had voted against him," The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. "Mr. Trump, who had feared an even larger number of defections, wanted to know who the lawmakers were and whether he had ever done anything for them, according to people familiar with the meeting. He also inquired who might run against them when they face re-election in two years, the people said."
"The president has grown increasingly concerned with defections against him within his own party, aides say. Now, he must plot his defense in a second Senate trial that will hinge on his level of GOP support, with far fewer legal and political allies than the last time he was impeached," The Journal reported.
On Wednesday, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), the GOP Conference Chair, voted for impeachment and was joined by Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), John Katko (R-NY), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Peter Meijer (R-MI), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Tom Rice (R-SC), David Valadao (R-CA), and Fred Upton (R-MI).
Trump is also in need of legal counsel to defend him, and he is getting feedback about the former mayor of New York City.
"Mr. Trump has called several Republicans on Capitol Hill in recent days to seek their advice on who he should recruit, as the personal attorneys who defended him last time and White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, have made clear to associates they don't intend to serve on his team, according to people familiar with the discussion," The Journal reported. "Advisers have urged the president not to tap Rudy Giuliani, his personal attorney who—to the chagrin of several Trump advisers—led the campaign to overturn the results of the election, telling Mr. Trump that he needs a sophisticated attorney who can stick to the facts."
On Thursday, The New York Times reported, "White House officials are universally angry with Mr. Giuliani and blame him for both of Mr. Trump's impeachments."
The newspaper interviewed "a person close to the president" about the mood in the White House.
"It's complete shellshock," said the source. "People are praying for the inauguration to come and to get Trump the hell out of there."
New: Shortly after the impeachment vote, Trump summoned advisers & demanded to know more about the 10 Republicans w… https://t.co/hUYAJLRzzb— Rebecca Ballhaus (@Rebecca Ballhaus) 1610741941.0
