McConnell still 'can't imagine' Senate will oust Trump in impeachment process

Morgan Watkins | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump: 'I shouldn't be impeached' President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he shouldn't be impeached and called the impeachment proceedings underway in the House of Representatives "a disgrace." (Nov. 15)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell continues to hold the line when it comes to impeachment, saying Monday he "can't imagine a scenario" in which the U.S. Senate would remove President Donald Trump from office.

This comes the week after the U.S. House of Representatives began holding public hearings in the impeachment inquiry.

The House still has to vote on whether to approve articles of impeachment. If that happens, McConnell said Monday he's still confident it wouldn't lead to Trump's ouster.

“I can’t imagine a scenario under which President Trump would be removed from office with 67 votes in the Senate," he said, reaffirming comments he made two weeks ago in Washington.

Although he seems assured of the outcome, he noted it's still an open question of how long a Senate impeachment trial would last.

Impeachment would displace the chamber's other business, McConnell said.

Earlier: Billboard warns McConnell to impeach Trump or 'lose your job'

He indicated the ongoing inquiry is already slowing its progress on priorities such as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which requires Congress' approval.

"Nothing is happening because House Democrats seized with Trump derangement syndrome are consumed with this argument with the president," he said.

McConnell was in downtown Louisville on Monday to receive this year's "Distinguished Rural Kentuckian" award from the Kentucky Electric Cooperatives.

During his acceptance speech, McConnell spoke about how he has been able to use his position as Senate majority leader to benefit rural Kentucky and "Middle America."

He also criticized a general lack of civility in American political discourse, which he considers to be "our biggest national problem" right now.

"People are acting out," he said. "We need to learn how to behave better, how to disagree without anger ..."

McConnell is up for reelection next year and has a reputation for running cutthroat campaigns against his political opponents. And he acknowledged Monday that campaigns are "hot salsa" but emphasized that the governing process doesn't have to be that way.

Gov. Matt Bevin, who lost his own reelection bid this month to Democrat Andy Beshear, often has been criticized for the way he spoke about public school teachers and other people who opposed his policies. But McConnell told reporters Monday that he wasn't thinking about Kentucky politics when he made those comments about the need for civility.

Previously: McConnell thinks Trump would be safe if a trial was held today

Support local journalism Support stories like this one by becoming a subscriber today! Support stories like this one by becoming a subscriber today! Get unlimited digital access here!

He said he was thinking about national issues, and in particular about when U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the country's highest court was being considered last year.

Kavanaugh's nomination was highly controversial. Both he and Christine Blasey Ford, a university professor who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers, testified before Congress in the lead-up to his eventual appointment to the Supreme Court.

On Monday, McConnell spoke critically of that period of time, when "we had people chasing members (of Congress) through the halls and getting in their faces and screaming and hollering and going over to the Supreme Court and acting out.

"Certainly we have free speech in this country, but I think we have a serious civility problem," he said.

When a reporter asked whether Trump shares some of the blame for that, given his penchant for harshly criticizing people he disagrees with, McConnell said: "I think we have a civility problem, and I didn't confine it to just liberals. I think it's across the board."

As for Bevin's loss to Beshear, McConnell reiterated statements he previously made in which he said Bevin had a good four years but came up short in the November election.

He also said he called Beshear after Bevin conceded the race last week and plans to meet with the attorney general — and soon-to-be governor — before the end of the year.

Related: Will Rand Paul be punished for outing suspected Trump whistleblower?

Morgan Watkins: 502-582-4502; mwatkins@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @morganwatkins26. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/morganw.