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BY JOHN BRESNAHAN, ANNA PALMER AND JAKE SHERMAN

THE TOP

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House Republicans are bracing for between ten and 20 of their GOP colleagues to vote to impeach Donald Trump — a hugely embarrassing rebuke for the president at the end of his tumultuous term.

This is only a fraction of the GOP conference, but a major rejection of the outgoing president’s behavior since the election, especially his role in last week’s deadly attack on the Capitol. The vote is “super fluid,” a Republican insider told us. The leadership isn’t keeping a formal whip count, but whatever the number is, it’s infinitely greater than the zero Republicans that voted for Trump’s impeachment in 2019, and it demonstrates the serious rift inside the party.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is personally opposed to impeachment and floated censure as a fall-back option Monday that could garner bipartisan support, but Democrats aren’t buying it. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told her Democratic colleagues that censure wouldn’t fly. House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney of Wyoming told Republicans she sees this as a vote of conscience — typically vernacular reserved for leaders when they’re not going to be pressuring their rank and file to vote one way or another. Cheney has not publicly announced how she will vote.

The House GOP Conference is truly divided right now. They came into the start of this new Congress riding high. They won seats after nearly everyone predicted they’d be driven further into the minority. 

But suddenly, Republicans are splintered in a million directions. On a national level, Shane Goldmacher of the NYT puts it this way: 

While all parties go through reckonings after losing power, the G.O.P. has lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections and, for the first time since Herbert Hoover, ceded the White House, Senate and House in a single term. President Trump is staring down a second impeachment, members of his administration have resigned in protest of his actions, and senators from his party have called for him to do the same.

On Capitol Hill, the GOP divisions are especially acute. On Monday, during a party call, two freshmen lawmakers exchanged words. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said that the Capitol riot was, in part, a result of Capitol Police who were a part of the mob. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said she was angry at the lawmakers who led Congress to this point, and added that she was “disappointed [the party is] being led by QAnon conspiracy theorists.” Boebert has expressed belief in QAnon.

All of this comes with Congress on edge, worried about further attacks on the Capitol and lawmakers. The FBI has warned of possible attacks on the U.S. Capitol and all 50 statehouses as Trump supporters rally in the coming days to oppose Joe Biden’s inauguration. 

Starting today, the House will ramp up its efforts to force Trump from office. The Rules Committee — which sets parameters for floor debate — will meet this afternoon to consider a resolution directing VP Mike Pence and the Cabinet to oust Trump from office using the 25th Amendment. The Democrats are rushing the bill to the floor, and have not scheduled the requisite meetings to prepare the legislation for the floor as of publication time.

The House will vote on impeaching the president Wednesday. Democrats are similarly rushing that process, leaving Republicans flat-footed and unsure of the procedures that will be used.

Here’s a question: Congress plans to impeach Trump for the second time in 13 months. Will Trump even try to care? Will he press lawmakers to vote against it? Or will he continue stewing in the White House alone? 

Impeachment ledealls … NYT, by Nick Fandos … WaPo, by Seung Min Kim, Annie Linskey and Josh Dawsey … POLITICO, by Heather Caygle and Sarah Ferris

HEADING FOR THE EXITS

Fallout in Cruz world

Sen. Ted Cruz’s communications director announced she was leaving his staff on Monday, fallout from the Texas Republican’s quest to overturn the election results. “I’m grateful to Senator Cruz for the opportunity and wish him and his first-rate staff nothing but the best,” Lauren Blair Bianchi said in a statement.

Bianchi — a Cruz aide for the last 18 months following stints with the House Ways and Means, Budget and Education and Labor panels — has grown increasingly distressed with the Texas Republican’s high-profile role in challenging Joe Biden’s Electoral College win. 

“Since the election it was becoming clear things were moving in a direction that she was not comfortable with and that culminated with last week’s tragedy in the Capitol,” said one source familiar with Bianchi’s decision. “Given that every member of Congress deserves to have a staff aligned with and supportive of their vision, and coupled with the start of the new Congress, she felt it was an appropriate time to step aside.”

INVESTIGATING THE POLICE

Capitol Police under scrutiny

The fallout from Wednesday’s mob riot on Capitol Hill among the Capitol Police force has been swift: Several police officers have been suspended and more than a dozen are under investigation.

WaPo’s Aaron Davis, Rebecca Tan and Beth Reinhard have the latest: “Eight separate investigations have been launched into the actions of Capitol officers, according to one congressional aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the status of the internal review.

“In one of the cases, officers had posted what Capitol Police investigators found to be messages showing support for the rally on Wednesday that preceded the attack on the complex, including touting President Trump’s baseless contention that the election had been stolen through voter fraud, the aide said.”

NYT: “Justice Dept. Pursues at Least 150 Suspects in Capitol Riot,” by Katie Benner and Adam Goldman … 

… ‘They Got a Officer!’: How a Mob Dragged and Beat Police at the Capitol”

HuffPo: “House Democrats Briefed On 3 Terrifying Plots To Overthrow Government,” by Matt Fuller: “On a private call Monday night, new leaders of the Capitol Police told House Democrats they were closely monitoring three separate plans that could pose serious threats to members of Congress as Washington prepares for Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration on Jan. 20. 

“The first is a demonstration billed as the ‘largest armed protest ever to take place on American soil.’ Another is a protest in honor of Ashli Babbitt, the woman killed while trying to climb into the Speaker’s Lobby during Wednesday’s pro-Trump siege of the Capitol. And another demonstration, which three members said was by far the most concerning plot, would involve insurrectionists forming a perimeter around the Capitol, the White House and the Supreme Court, and then blocking Democrats from entering the Capitol — perhaps even killing them — so that Republicans could take control of the government.”

MOMENTS

The House is back today and will vote at 7:30 p.m.

Joe Biden will meet with advisers in Wilmington, Del.

CLIP FILE

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) tweeted that she has tested positive for Covid-19 after being in a room with maskless Republicans. 

The Information: “Facebook Tells Employees to Avoid Wearing Facebook-Branded Apparel,” by Alex Heath: “Facebook on Monday told employees to avoid wearing or carrying company-branded clothing and other items in public following the company’s suspension last week of President Donald Trump’s account and its more recent crackdown on content mentioning “Stop the Steal,” an online movement that falsely claimed the presidential election results had been corrupted.

“‘In light of recent events, and to err on the side of caution, global security is encouraging everyone to avoid wearing or carrying Facebook-branded items at this time,’ Facebook said in an internal memo to employees, which was reviewed by The Information.”

NYT: “Congress’s Sergeants-at-Arms Face Scrutiny After Siege,” by Mike Schmidt and Ali Watkins … 

… “Before Capitol Riot, Republican Lawmakers Fanned the Flames,” by Catie Edmondson and Luke Broadwater … 

… “An Urgent Reckoning for the Trump Brand,” by Eric Lipton, Ben Protess and Steve Eder: “[T]he Trump brand, premised on gold-plated luxury and a super-affluent clientele, may not fully recover from the fallout of his supporters violently storming and vandalizing the U.S. Capitol, hospitality analysts say and some people close to the business acknowledge. Other companies linked with the Trumps, including Deutsche Bank, the president’s largest lender, and Signature Bank, are also seeking distance from him and his business.”

WaPo: “New York City to consider ending contracts with Trump that bring his company $17 million a year,” by David Fahrenthold and Jonathan O’Connell: “The city of New York said Monday that it was ‘reviewing whether legal grounds exist’ to terminate its business relationships with President Trump, whose company has contracts to run a carousel, two ice rinks and a golf course in city parks.” …

… “Six hours of paralysis: Inside Trump’s failure to act after a mob stormed the Capitol,” by Ashley Parker, Josh Dawsey and Phil Rucker: “Hiding from the rioters in a secret location away from the Capitol, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) appealed to Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) phoned Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter.

“And Kellyanne Conway, a longtime Trump confidante and former White House senior adviser, called an aide who she knew was standing at the president’s side. But as senators and House members trapped inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday begged for immediate help during the siege, they struggled to get through to the president, who — safely ensconced in the West Wing — was too busy watching fiery TV images of the crisis unfolding around them to act or even bother to hear their pleas.

“‘He was hard to reach, and you know why? Because it was live TV,’ said one close Trump adviser. ‘If it’s TiVo, he just hits pause and takes the calls. If it’s live TV, he watches it, and he was just watching it all unfold.’”

AP: “FBI warns of plans for nationwide armed protests next week,” by Colleen Long, Michael Balsamo and Michael Kunzelman 

WSJ Editorial Board: “Mr. Biden can better set the stage for his inaugural by telling the public that he’d prefer if the impeachers stood down. He can say he thinks Mr. Trump’s behavior is impeachable, and that had it taken place earlier he’d support his ouster. But on the eve of the transfer of power and going into a new Presidency, it is needlessly divisive. He could say his goal as President is to move past the politics of polarization and annihilation, not to escalate it for another four years. Most Americans would welcome it.”

Charlotte Observer: “Cawthorn spoke at rally before violent mob attacked Capitol. Now he’s facing backlash,” by Brian Murphy: “U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who spoke at last week’s rally that preceded a riot at the U.S. Capitol, has lost the support of a key Republican endorser in Western North Carolina as some Democrats call for his removal from Congress.

“Cawthorn, 25, is the youngest member of Congress. He was elected in November to fill the seat previously held by current White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows after campaigning as a new kind of Republican who would not back down. … 

“[George] Erwin, who won three terms as Henderson County sheriff and served a decade as the executive director of the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police, had lined up support for Cawthorn from law enforcement groups throughout Western North Carolina’s 11th district. … For a time, Erwin was preparing to be Cawthorn’s district director before deciding he could not do it. Now he regrets his actions to help. Cawthorn’s campaign website lists the endorsement of Erwin as well as 14 other sheriffs from around the area.”

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