唐纳德·特朗普总统周一明确表示，他希望共和党人针对众议院民主党的弹劾调查加强对他的辩护。
特朗普呼吁自己政党的成员更好地为自己辩护的举措，正值几名共和党议员发表评论，表示他们愿意接受对总统的弹劾调查。
“共和党人必须变得更加强硬和斗争，”他说。“我们有些人是伟大的战士，但他们必须变得更加坚强和战斗，因为民主党试图在选举中伤害共和党，而这正是我们做得非常好的地方。”
特朗普在白宫会见内阁官员时对记者发表了长篇讲话，他还赞扬了民主党人，他说民主党人在传递信息方面在团结一致方面做得更好。
“我认为他们是糟糕的政治家。但他们有两样东西:他们是邪恶的，他们会团结在一起，”特朗普说。“他们中间没有米特·罗姆尼。他们没有那样的人。他们粘在一起。你永远看不到它们脱落。”
他称赞即将离任的众议院议员威尔·赫德告诉哥伦比亚广播公司面向国家上周末，在最近与几名国务院官员的私下证词中，他和他的同事们还没有听说乌克兰官员认为有人提供了交换条件。
但是，尽管特朗普的主要国会盟友继续为他激烈辩护，反对“非法”和“虚假”的弹劾调查，但最近几周，全国越来越多的共和党人没有排除调查，也没有完全相信特朗普在乌克兰丑闻中没有不当行为。
犹他州参议员米特·罗姆尼说他没有排除特朗普可能被赶下台的可能性，他“在等待众议院完成分析，收集所有事实”特朗普的经常批评者将总统要求中国也调查拜登夫妇的呼吁称为”违法“和确认的他经营着一个秘密的推特账户，密切关注他的批评者，并在社交媒体平台上匿名互动。
2016年11月19日，米特·罗姆尼在新泽西州贝德明斯特镇特朗普国际高尔夫俱乐部会面后离开时，当选总统唐纳德·特朗普向媒体发出呼吁。
在对特朗普的批评中，一些共和党人引用了代理参谋长米克·马尔瓦尼(Mick Mulvaney)上周的声明，他在声明中承认，美国与乌克兰进行了军事援助交换，以换取调查腐败的承诺，2016年的选举窃听事件和能源公司拜登的儿子亨特(Hunter)的董事会成员布里斯马(Burisma)。
“你不能扣留我们以前为政治倡议拨出的外援，”说莉萨·穆尔科斯基参议员。“句号。”
众议员弗朗西斯·鲁尼(共和党)上周告诉记者，马尔瓦尼“基本上说这是一个交换条件”，他是少数有能力参加闭门弹劾调查程序的议员之一，并宣布他明年不会寻求连任
“这不是草图，”前乔治·布什大使补充道。鲁尼暗示他可能会被弹劾。
众议员亚当·金辛格直言不讳地表示反对特朗普从叙利亚撤军，并暗示他在弹劾调查中也会敞开大门，但尚未做出最终判决。
“这非常令人担忧，我想我们会得到更多的信息，因为我们看到这种情况正在迅速发生，”他说告诉美国有线电视新闻网。
俄亥俄州前共和党州长约翰·卡西奇说他现在支持弹劾特朗普但没有要求参议院解除他的职务。
三位现任共和党州长——马萨诸塞州的查理·贝克、马里兰州的拉里·霍根和佛蒙特州的菲尔·斯科特——表示支持弹劾调查。
众议院有可能在年底前投票弹劾特朗普，因为立法者认为2020年为时已晚，被太多人视为试图影响即将到来的总统选举。特朗普周一表示，他预计众议院民主党将成功弹劾他。
“我想他们想。任何民主党人都想，”他说。"他们当然想弹劾我。"
TRUMP TELLS REPUBLICANS TO BETTER DEFEND HIM AGAINST IMPEACHMENT WHILE CRITICIZING ROMNEY
President Donald Trump made it clear Monday that he wants Republicans to step up their defense of him against House Democrats' impeachment inquiry.
The move by Trump to call on members of his own party to better come to his defense came amid several GOP lawmakers making comments that suggest they're open to the impeachment inquiry into the president.
"Republicans have to get tougher and fight," he said. "We have some that are great fighters, but they have to get tougher and fight because the Democrats are trying to hurt the Republican Party for the election, which is something where we're doing very well."
Trump, speaking to reporters at length in the White House during a meeting with cabinet officials, also praised Democrats, whom he said have done a better job at sticking together when it comes to their messaging.
"I think they're lousy politicians. But two things they have: They're vicious and they stick together," Trump said. "They don't have Mitt Romney in their midst. They don't have people like that. They stick together. You never see them break off."
He praised outgoing Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) for telling CBS' Face the Nation over the weekend that in recent private depositions with several State Department officials, he and his colleagues had yet to hear that Ukrainian officials believed there was a quid pro quo being offered.
But while Trump's top congressional allies continue to vehemently defend him against the "illegitimate" and "sham" impeachment probe, a growing number of Republicans across the country in recent weeks have not ruled out the inquiry and have refrained from throwing their full confidence behind the notion there was no wrongdoing by Trump in the Ukraine scandal.
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah has said he isn't ruling out Trump's potential ouster and that he's "waiting for the House to complete its analysis, to gather all the facts." The frequent Trump critic labeled the president's call for China to also investigate the Bidens as "against the law" and confirmed he runs a secret Twitter account to keep tabs on his critics and to anonymously interact on the social media platform.
Then-President-elect Donald Trump calls out to the press as Mitt Romney leaves after their meeting at Trump International Golf Club, November 19, 2016, in Bedminster Township, New Jersey.
In their criticism of Trump, some Republicans have cited acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney's statements last week, where he acknowledged the U.S. was engaged in a quid pro quo with Ukraine for military aid in exchange for promises to investigate corruption, 2016 election hacking and Burisma, the energy company Biden's son, Hunter, sits on the board of.
"You don't hold up foreign aid that we had previously appropriated for a political initiative," saidSen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). "Period."
Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL), one of a select number of lawmakers who have the ability to attend closed-door impeachment inquiry proceedings and who's announced he would not seek re-election next year, told reporters last week that Mulvaney "basically said it's a quid pro quo."
"It's not an etch-a-sketch," the former George W. Bush ambassador added. Rooney hinted that he could potentially be for impeachment.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who's been outspoken about his opposition to Trump withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria, has suggested he's also leaving the door open when it comes to the impeachment inquiry but has not reached a final judgment.
"It's quite concerning, and I think we're going to get more information as we're seeing this happen rapidly," he told CNN.
Former GOP Ohio Governor John Kasich said he now supports Trump's impeachment but did not call for his removal from office by the Senate.
Three current Republican governors—Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Larry Hogan of Maryland and Phil Scott of Vermont—have said they back the impeachment inquiry.
It's plausible the House could vote to impeach Trump before the year's end, as lawmakers have suggested 2020 would be too late and viewed by too many as trying to influence an upcoming presidential election. And Trump said Monday that he expects House Democrats to successfully impeach him.
"I think they want to. Any Democrat wants to," he said. "Of course they want to impeach me."
