President Donald Trump on Monday announced the eight House Republicans he tapped to be part of his impeachment defense team.
"Throughout this process, these Members of Congress have provided guidance to the White House team, which was prohibited from participating in the proceedings concocted by Democrats in the House of Representatives," the White House said in a statement. "The President looks forward to their continued participation and is confident that the Members will help expeditiously end this brazen political vendetta on behalf of the American people."
The members include:
House Judiciary Committee Member and Republican Study Committee Chairman Mike Johnson (R-LA)
House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan (R-OH)
House Judiciary Committee Member Debbie Lesko (R-AZ)
House Oversight Committee Member Mark Meadows (R-NC)
House Intelligence Committee and Judiciary Committee Member John Ratcliffe (R-TX)
House Intelligence Committee Member Elise Stefanik (R-NY)
House Financial Services Member Lee Zeldin (R-NY)
The White House tapped some of President Trump's greatest allies. In particular, Reps. Collins, Jordan and Meadows have continually made the rounds on news networks. They've argued that the Democrats' impeachment process has been a botched sham from the beginning, as evidenced by voting on an impeachment inquiry weeks after it already began.
According to Rep. Johnson, Republican leadership in the Senate was concerned about the White House tapping Republicans in the House.
“There was some resistance or concern in the Senate that it would become more of a show than a trial and I tried to make very, the people that have been involved in the discussion on this are very serious about this, I mean I was a litigator for 20 years in federal court on constitutional law cases, so this is within my wheelhouse and something I have great interest in,” Johnson told The Hill. “And the others that I have mentioned feel the same way, so it would be exactly the opposite of the concerns that's been expressed on the other side.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) echoed similar concerns
"I don't think it's wise. I think we need to elevate the argument beyond body politics, beyond party politics and talk about the constitutional problems with these two articles," Graham said.
