陪审团成立后没多久找到唐纳德·特朗普有罪的在纽约州封口费审判中的所有34项重罪上，共和党人迅速为他们假定的总统候选人辩护。
议长迈克·约翰逊是总统职位的第二顺位人选，也是国会山共和党领袖，他称这是“美国历史上可耻的一天”
约翰逊声称:“这纯粹是一次政治演习，而不是法律演习。”
众议院领袖也去曼哈顿旅行为了表示他本月早些时候在法院对特朗普的支持，他继续试图将诉讼程序描绘成有偏见的——鹦鹉学舌前总统本人毫无根据的说法，即司法系统已经在政治上对他进行了武器化。
“美国人民认为这是非法的，他们知道这是错误的，也是危险的，”约翰逊说。“特朗普总统将理直气壮地对这一荒谬的判决提出上诉——而且他会赢!”
许多国会共和党人附和了这一回应。
众议院共和党三号人物、纽约州众议员伊利斯·斯特凡尼克也毫无根据地声称，审判结果是司法系统“腐败和舞弊”的迹象。
她说:“我完全支持特朗普总统对这一决定提出上诉，并期待纽约上诉法院伸张正义，推翻这一判决。
斯特凡尼克在没有证据的情况下声称，该案是“乔·拜登的盟友为了挽救拜登失败的竞选而提出的，判决取决于一名因撒谎而被取消律师资格的被定罪的重罪犯的证词。”
参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔就前总统特朗普被定罪一事在X上发表了一份简短声明，称不应对他提出指控。
麦康奈尔在邮报上说:“这些指控一开始就不应该提出。”“我预计上诉时定罪会被推翻。“
国会中最先做出反应的是众议员吉姆·乔丹(Jim Jordan)，他是特朗普在华盛顿最坚定的盟友之一，也是众议院司法委员会(House Judiciary Committee)主席，他称这次审判和判决是“对司法的嘲弄”。
乔丹认为，特朗普受到了“袋鼠法庭”的审判，这一过程是有目的的，旨在让他远离2024年的竞选活动——尽管特朗普在为期六周的审判中举行了几次集会和竞选活动，并经常就其发展发送筹款电子邮件。
与此同时，民主党人坚称，特朗普和其他所有被告一样，都有出庭的一天。
“每个人都有权获得正当程序，唐纳德·特朗普也有他的权利。马里兰州民主党参议员克里斯·范·霍伦(Chris Van Hollen)说:“这一有罪判决以及针对特朗普的许多正在进行的刑事案件向世界表明:在美国，没有人可以凌驾于法律之上。
“在美国，没有人可以凌驾于法律之上:没有富人，没有权贵，当然也没有任何前总统，”加州民主党众议员特德·刘(Ted Lieu)在一份声明中说。
特拉华州民主党参议员克里斯·库恩斯赞扬了陪审员，并敦促“所有美国人，无论他们属于哪个党派，都要接受并尊重这场审判的结果。”
'Shameful': Republicans quickly come to Trump's defense after his conviction
It didn’t take long after a juryfoundDonald Trumpguiltyon all 34 felony counts in his New York hush money trial for Republicans to quickly jump to their presumptive presidential nominee’s defense.
Speaker Mike Johnson, second in line to the presidency and the top Republican on Capitol Hill, called it a “shameful day in American history.”
“This was a purely political exercise, not a legal one,” Johnson claimed.
The House leader, who alsotraveled to Manhattanto show his support for Trump at the courthouse earlier this month, went on to try to paint the proceeding as biased -- parroting unfounded claims from the former president himself that the justice system has been politically weaponized against him.
"The American people see this as lawfare, and they know it is wrong -- and dangerous,” Johnson said. “President Trump will rightfully appeal this absurd verdict -- and he WILL WIN!"
Many congressional Republicans echoed that response.
New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 Republican in the House, also made the unfounded claim that the trial outcome is a sign of a "corrupt and rigged" justice system.
"I fully support President Trump appealing this decision and look forward to the New York Court of Appeals delivering justice and overturning this verdict," she said.
Stefanik claimed, without evidence, that the case was "brought forward by Joe Biden's allies in a desperate attempt to save Biden's failing campaign and the verdict hinged on the testimony of a convicted felon who was disbarred for lying."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a brief statement on X on former President Trump's conviction which says that the charges shouldn't have been brought against him.
"These charges never should have been brought in the first place," McConnell said in the post. "I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal."
Among the first to react in Congress was Rep. Jim Jordan, one of Trump’s staunchest allies in Washington and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who called the trial and verdict a “travesty of justice.”
Jordan argued Trump was subjected to a “kangaroo court” and the process was purposefully designed to keep him off the 2024 campaign trail -- though Trump held several rallies and campaign stops during the six-week trial and frequently sent fundraising emails off of its developments.
Meanwhile, Democrats asserted Trump had his day in court just like every other defendant.
“Everyone is entitled to due process, and Donald Trump had his. This guilty verdict and the many ongoing criminal cases against Trump make it clear to the world: in the United States, no one is above the law,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat.
“In America, no one is above the law: not the rich, not the powerful, and certainly not any former presidents,” Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said in a statement.
Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, commended the jurors and urged “all Americans, no matter their party affiliation, to accept and respect the outcome of this trial.”
