Democratic senator says he knows ‘handful’ of GOP colleagues considering vote to remove Trump

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Friday said that he has spoken with a “handful” of Republican colleagues who would consider voting to remove President Trump after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the House will move to impeach him. 

Asked during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” whether he has spoken with “a single GOP colleague in the Senate who’s even considering voting for impeachment,” Murphy answered affirmatively.

{mosads}”Yes,” he said, while declining to name any colleagues.  

“It’s a small list, on one hand,” Murphy said. 

The senator also pushed back against calls for an anonymous removal vote. 

“I don’t buy this secret ballot thing. If there was a secret ballot, there’d still be only a handful of them that would vote to impeach this guy,” he said. 

If the House votes to impeach the president, the focus would shift to a Senate trial to decide on if Trump should be removed. Two-thirds of the GOP-held Senate would have to vote to remove Trump for him to be forced from office, meaning at least 20 Republican senators would need to support the move.

Murphy said he thought there was a maximum of five Republican senators who might vote to remove Trump.

“Have you spoken to a single GOP colleague in the Senate who’s even considering voting for impeachment?” — @WillieGeist

“Yes.” —@ChrisMurphyCT pic.twitter.com/T7rGEQ81jz

— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) December 6, 2019

Pelosi said Thursday that she has asked House committee chairmen to “proceed with articles of impeachment” following weeks of impeachment hearings.