Following the 232-196 vote in the House on a resolution guiding impeachment proceedings, the White House is seizing on the two Democrats who voted against it as evidence of “bipartisan” opposition to the measure.
Two White House officials said the administration will continue to argue that it’s a ‘big deal’ two Democrats sided with Republicans in “bipartisan opposition” and that two is actually not such a small number in these partisan times.
“Two has always been a threshold with a bipartisan vote. In today’s partisan times, that’s huge,” one official said.
The White House will try to make the case that leadership wasn’t totally successful with two Democrats jumping over for a vote of this magnitude.
“Today, the opposition was bipartisan,” White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway tweeted.
“The only bipartisan thing about this impeachment sham is the opposition to it,” the White House tweeted on its official account.
In terms of the GOP arguments against process being undercut by the Democrats’ vote, officials say that messaging doesn’t need to change as of now because closed-door hearings are still taking place next week. The official said until the President’s team begins getting access to witnesses and is able to exercise due process rights, the White House will continue to argue the process is flawed.
One official said it remains to be seen how it will play out and that Democrats want a trial after the verdict has been reached.
White House officials said the unified Republican opposition — which came after massive pressure from Trump — stands in contrast to the two Democratic defectors.
About the votes: Two votes out of 232 is a minuscule figure and hardly represents a bipartisan consensus and Democrats are largely unified in their approach to impeachment. It is also worth noting that both Democrats who crossed party lines come from districts that Trump won by double digits in 2016.