Fifty U.S. senators have signed onto a resolution condemning the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Friday.
On Thursday, Graham said he was introducing a resolution into the Senate that is critical of the way House Democrats are conducting the investigation while calling for the lower body of Congress to hold a formal vote. During a press conference, Graham said there were 41 senators who were signing onto the measure.
Now, there are 50 co-sponsors, he confirmed on Twitter.
In order to pass, the resolution would need at least 60 votes in the Senate.
Updated to show 50 Co-Sponsors–
1.Graham
2.McConnell
3.Grassley
4.Thune
5.Blunt
6.Shelby
7.Inhofe
8.Roberts
9.Crapo
10.Cornyn
11.Burr
12.Barrasso
13.Wicker
14.Risch
15.Boozman
16. Moran
17. Toomey1/3
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 25, 2019
18.Rubio
19.Paul
20.Hoeven
21.Lee
22.Johnson
23.Scott (SC)
24.Fischer
25.Cruz
26.Gardner
27.Capito
28.Cassidy
29.Lankford
30.Cotton
31.Daines
32.Perdue
33.Ernst
34.Tillis2/3
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 25, 2019
35.Rounds
36.Sasse
37.Young
38.Kennedy
39.Hyde-Smith
40.Blackburn
41.Cramer
42.McSally
43.Braun
44.Hawley
45.Scott (FL)
46.Sullivan
47.Portman
48.Isakson
49.Alexander
50.Enzi3/3
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 25, 2019
Three Republicans have not signed onto the measure, and they are Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
“I’d like to see a vote taken in the House to decide whether there is support for impeachment. I’d love to see a more open process,” Romney said through a spokesperson, The Hill reported.
“Senator Murkowski hasn’t yet reviewed the Graham resolution yet. So she will review the resolution before making a determination,” CNN quoted a Murkowski spokesperson as saying.
Recently, Collins indicated that the impeachment process is problematic.
The House’s conduct is “entirely inappropriate” and Democrats have already “made up their minds,” Collins said, The Hill reported.
In announcing the measure on Thursday, Graham said the House “out of bounds” and is “inconsistent with the process as we know it,” referring to impeaching a president.
“What’s going on is a run around of the impeachment process … that fundamentally” ignores due process under the law, he said. “It’s a danger to the future of the presidency,” he added.
Graham criticized the secretive nature of the inquiry, adding that in past impeachment inquiries, a president was allowed due process and the right to face one’s accuser.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) previously said that a formal vote on the inquiry is not required.
