These Republicans May Not Endorse an Impeachment Inquiry. But They Aren’t Saying No.
Mark Amodei wearing glasses: Representative Mark Amodei, Republican of Nevada, has indicated openness to an impeachment inquiry.
As evidence mounts that Mr. Trump engaged in an intensive effort to pressure the leader of Ukraine to investigate a political rival, Mr. Amodei is one of a growing number of Republicans who, while not explicitly endorsing the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, are at least indicating an openness to it. None have said Mr. Trump should be impeached. But neither are they defending him.
It is a politically delicate but increasingly common approach among independent-minded lawmakers like Mr. Amodei, who are working to balance their fear of inviting Mr. Trump’s wrath — and that of the party base — with a deep anxiety that there is more to be revealed about the president, some of it potentially indefensible, and the knowledge that history will hold them accountable for their words and actions.
In Michigan, Representative Fred Upton told an audience at the Detroit Economic Club that while he did not support an impeachment inquiry, “there are legitimate questions” about Mr. Trump’s interactions with Ukraine, and he had no problem with Democrats’ efforts to get more information.
“We need to know what the answers are,” he said.
In Texas, Representative Will Hurd — who is retiring, and therefore perhaps feeling liberated to speak his mind — has called on the House to investigate the “troubling” allegations against Mr. Trump, though he cautioned against a rush to impeachment. In Pennsylvania, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick said he thinks law enforcement should investigate. In Illinois, Representative Adam Kinzinger said, “I want to know what happened here.”
And in nearby Utah, Senator Mitt Romney, who has emerged as a lonely voice criticizing Mr. Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, and last week called the president’s appeal for foreign help investigating the Bidens “wrong and appalling,” appears to have company. Before a whistle-blower’s complaint against Mr. Trump was made public, a fellow Utahan, Representative John Curtis, introduced a resolution calling for the White House to release it, and he has said he is “closely monitoring the formal inquiry.”
a truck that is sitting on a grill: Mr. Amodei’s Chevy Silverado.
© Jason Henry for The New York Times Mr. Amodei’s Chevy Silverado.
On Saturday, in a warning shot to Republicans who might cross him, Mr. Trump lashed out at Mr. Romney on Twitter, calling him a “pompous ‘ass’ who has been fighting me from the beginning” and using the hashtag #IMPEACHMITTROMNEY.”
As they distance themselves from Mr. Trump, these Republicans — some in swing districts in tight re-election races — are also taking care to distance themselves from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who they say rushed into the impeachment inquiry. For the most part they are refraining from directly criticizing the president, who has branded the investigation a “witch hunt” and a “hoax.”
But neither are they adopting the language of their leaders, whose strategy centers on attacking Ms. Pelosi, branding the inquiry politically motivated and changing the subject to Mr. Biden and his son, Hunter, whose work for a Ukrainian energy company fed Mr. Trump’s accusations of a nefarious web of corruption involving one of his top political foes. More than a dozen House Republicans have remained silent.
“It’s a matter of following their conscience and saying what they will be happy defending to their children in later years,” said Whit Ayres, a Republican strategist, adding, “Some of them are following the rule that if you can’t say anything good about your president, you should not say anything at all.”
