Trump's Biggest Impeachment Threat Isn't Democrats, But Defecting Republicans

At the White House on Friday, President Donald Trump declared that Democrats are "trying to make us look as bad as possible." He's right. But it isn't Democrats who are his principal problem. It's whether Republicans will continue to stand behind him or defect.

There are several troubling developments for Trump on this front. Sen. Lindsey Graham has introduced a resolution that demands more transparency in the House impeachment inquiry. Trump wants the resolution as a public sign that Republicans have his back. But the resolution may be proving the reverse. Graham had to soften the language of the resolution from condemning the House's actions to pleading for transparency to attract fifty co-sponsors.

Another difficulty that Trump confronts is that he is increasingly unable to command loyalty from within his administration. The forthcoming publication of a tell-all book by Anonymous, who is apparently a senior official in the administration, is indicative of Trump's difficulties in identifying and hiring officials who are not only conversant with his views, but also share them. Trump himself offered a kind of confession in this regard when he stated at the White House on Friday, "Here's the thing. I don't have teams; everyone's talking about teams. I'm the team. I did nothing wrong."

But he does have a team. One member of it, Tim Morrison, a senior staffer on the National Security Council, is preparing to ignore the White House's directive against cooperating with the inquiry. He seems intent on testifying and may well corroborate William B. Taylor Jr.'s statements. According to Politico, Morrison "would be the first currently serving White House official to testify. He's also the first official believed to be on a July 25 phone call between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during which Trump pressed his counterpart to investigate former vice president Joe Biden."