Citing low Republican impeachment defections, many still see GOP as Trump's party

Citing the vast majority of the House Republican caucus that voted against impeaching President Donald Trump following last week's riot at the U.S. Capitol, some say that the GOP is still Trump's party.

The Democrat-led House voted on Wednesday to impeach Trump 232-197, arguing that Trump incited his supporters during the "Stop the Steal" rally that took place the day of the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

In total, 10 House Republicans voted in favor of impeachment, fewer than many had predicted.

Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert said that a majority of the House GOP caucus voted against impeachment, but some news reports are suggesting that the GOP is fractured and no longer behind Trump.

"The 'journalists' writing articles about how the GOP is no longer behind Trump should understand that 197 House Republicans voted against impeachment," she tweeted. "Only 10 voted yes. 96% of the party voted no."

Boebert called on the House to focus on the economy, writing, "Hey @TheDemocrats! I’ve found something we can focus on instead of pointless impeachments!" In the tweet, Boebert linked to an article about how jobless claims climbed to 965,000 in the first week of January. 

Following the riot at the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday, a sizable majority of House Republicans still supported an objection to the Pennsylvania Electoral College presidential election results. The objection ultimately failed 282-138. 

Some Republican lawmakers argued on the House floor that Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and his administration unilaterally altered election law without the legislature's approval ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.

Meghan McCain, daughter of late Arizona Sen. John McCain and co-host of ABC's "The View," said on Thursday that Trump is "still ruling" the GOP after the House impeachment vote.

McCain's comments are further supported by a new Axios-Ipsos poll that found solid majorities of Republicans still support Trump, including 57% who said they believe he should be the party's nominee in 2024.

The earliest a Senate impeachment trial could get underway is the day before Joe Biden's inauguration, making it unlikely that the Senate would vote on the House's impeachment article before Trump leaves office.