WASHINGTON — Republicans have no unified argument in the impeachment inquiry of Donald Trump, in large part because they can’t agree on how best to defend the president — or, for some, whether they should.

That would require a level of consensus that Trump’s call with the Ukraine president was “perfect,” as he insists. Or it would take a measure of GOP independence from Trump to suggest there may be a need to investigate.

Instead, it’s every Republican for himself or herself.

Utah Sen. Mitt Romney says the president’s actions toward Ukraine are “troubling.” Other Republicans say the behavior may raise concerns, but it’s not impeachable. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham calls the whole impeachment inquiry “B.S.”

The result is a mishmash of GOP commentary spilling from Capitol Hill that may shield lawmakers, for now, from risky political choices, but leaves them with a disjointed defense of Trump as impeachment hearings push into the public realm this week.

“It’s not good,” said veteran GOP strategist Alex Conant. “Normally you want to establish the facts, get them out on their own terms, and build a message around that strategy. They’re not doing any of that.”

He added: “It’s hard to rally people to your side without a coherent and sustainable message.”

At its core, the impeachment inquiry is based on what Democrats say is an improper quid pro quo — a “shakedown” — that Trump engaged in during his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

According to a White House rough transcript of the call and testimony from several government officials, Trump was withholding needed military aid from the ally as he wanted Zelenskiy to investigate Trump’s potential 2020 rival, Joe Biden, as well 2016 U.S. election interference.

The House Republican message against impeachment has four distinct parts, according to a senior House GOP aide who spoke on condition of anonymity: The transcript of Trump’s call with Zelensky shows the president did nothing wrong; several key witnesses testified that they don’t have firsthand knowledge of what transpired; the Ukrainians didn’t know the military aid was being upheld until it was publicly reported; and eventually the U.S. agreed to send the money to Ukraine.

It’s a message being reinforced daily in the media by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and other Trump surrogates, including Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C. and Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., who are also part of the inquiry panels, the person said.

What goes without saying, though, is that few Republicans lawmakers are willing to say the call was “perfect” or that there was “no quid pro quo,” as Trump insists.

Lisa Mascaro is an Associated Press writer.