Congressional Republicans, including nearly the entire Senate GOP Conference, signed onto a Supreme Court brief in January backing former President Donald Trump when Colorado state officials tried to prevent him from being on the ballot over his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
But that same level of support from Hill Republicans for Trump hasn’t materialized on a separate and equally high-profile argument to the high court — that Trump has absolute immunity from criminal prosecution related to any official actions as president.
In fact, the deadline for submitting a brief in support of Trump’s position in the immunity case has already passed, according to the Supreme Court’s website. Before the March 19 deadline, just one GOP senator and 26 House Republicans signed onto a brief backing Trump’s expansive view of executive authority. None are in the top leadership of either chamber.
That compares to 41 GOP senators and 136 House members who signed the Colorado brief, including the leadership in both chambers.
A notable shift: The immunity brief, led by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), was authored by America First Legal, an organization founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller. The NRSC and its chair, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), filed a separate brief in support of Trump’s position in the immunity case, as he did in the Colorado case.
The disparity between the level of GOP support for Trump in each case serves to highlight the unpopularity of the former president’s chief legal defense against criminal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
The Colorado brief, led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, had nearly 200 Hill GOP co-signers and was submitted by America First Legal.
The Colorado list included Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who recently stood by his assessment following Jan. 6 that Trump is directly responsible for the events of that day.
McConnell’s prophetic prediction: But McConnell also suggested following the post-Jan. 6 Senate impeachment trial that he believed Trump could be held accountable for his actions by the courts, saying the former president “didn’t get away with anything yet.” The immunity case before the Supreme Court, of course, directly challenges the notion that Trump can be criminally prosecuted for actions related to his official duties.
Cruz’s office didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment. It’s unclear if there was a broader effort to encourage GOP lawmakers to sign onto the brief supporting Trump in the immunity case.
It’s not clear whether Trump will notice or ultimately care about the differences in support in the two cases that could determine not only his electoral future but also whether he potentially is convicted. Trump’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
— Andrew Desiderio
