Blunt: Impeachment May Be ‘Long-Term Punishment’ For Trump, But There’s ‘No Possibility’ It Will Happen Before He Leaves Office - Forbes

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Topline

Amid growing calls from both sides of the aisle to remove President Trump from office following the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Building last week, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said Sunday that it would be impossible to do so by impeachment in the ten days remaining before President-elect Biden’s inauguration.

Key Facts

In a Sunday interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, Blunt said, “my belief is there is no possibility” that Trump could be removed from office between now and January 20 “if there’s no additional ensuing event.”

He joins a handful of GOP lawmakers—including Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.)—who are skeptical that an impeachment trial in the final few days of Trump’s presidency would be possible given the short timeline before President-elect Biden’s inauguration or even a good idea.

Instead, Blunt characterized impeachment proceedings as a “long-term punishment of the President” rather than a way to expedite his removal from office.

Blunt made similar comments last Friday, suggesting Democratic leaders’ support of impeachment proceedings is “obviously just another political point trying to be made,” Fox New reported.

Breaking with a handful of his Republican colleagues who have called for Trump’s removal from office, Blunt said during the interview that he does not believe President Trump should resign and declined to say whether he believes Trump committed an impeachable offense in connection with last week’s riot.

Crucial Quote

“The president should be very careful over the next 10 days that his behavior is what you'd expect from the leader of the greatest country in the world,” Blunt said. “Now, my personal view is that the president touched the hot stove on Wednesday and is unlikely to touch it again.”

What To Watch For

House Democrats have drafted articles of impeachment and could be prepared to vote on them as soon as Tuesday, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, though Clyburn noted the House may wait to send the matter to the Senate until after Biden’s first 100 days in office. A group of House Republicans last week wrote a letter to Biden requesting that he put a stop to the impeachment proceedings, suggesting that impeachment would undermine Biden’s goal of “unifying Americans” and would be a “further distraction to our nation” amid the coronavirus pandemic and the economic crisis it has caused.