Senate Republicans are stepping up their attacks on the House’s impeachment inquiry, as the prospect of a trial in the upper chamber grows more likely by the day and President Donald Trump has demanded that his Capitol Hill allies form a firewall of support around him.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, is set to introduce a resolution on Thursday that would condemn the Democrat-led impeachment probe. The South Carolina Republican has attacked Democrats for their handling of the impeachment process. His resolution — backed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — criticizes the House for its “closed-door, illegitimate impeachment inquiry,” according to a press release.

“This is a kangaroo court and it will not stand,” Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said this week. “I’ve got a resolution saying if you’re going to impeach the president give him the same rights that Richard Nixon had and that Bill Clinton had...what’s going on now is disgusting.”

McConnell said Thursday that no time has been set yet for a vote but that he "obviously" supports the measure.

Senate Republicans have lambasted House Democrats for holding depositions behind closed doors and for declining to hold a vote that would formalize an impeachment inquiry, which happened in both the Clinton and Nixon impeachments but is not required by the constitution.

But Trump’s conservative allies in the House are growing frustrated that their Senate counterparts aren’t doing more to protect the president. Some House Republicans, who have been using their limited tools in the minority to disrupt Democrats’ impeachment probe, think the GOP-led Senate should use their powers to step up their defense of Trump.

Some are calling on Graham to hold his own impeachment hearings and haul in GOP witnesses as a way to counter-program the Democratic-led impeachment probe — and it’s unclear if Graham’s disapproval resolution will be enough to satisfy their demands.

“There are members of the House who would like [Graham] to take that to the next level,” Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), who has emerged as one of Trump’s most vocal defenders in the impeachment fight, told POLITICO on Wednesday. “The Senate Judiciary Committee might be that vehicle to let the American people more in on what the whole story is.”

But in the Senate, the minority on the Judiciary Committee can also bring their own witnesses. And other lawmakers point out that it makes sense that House Republicans are on the frontlines defending Trump since impeachment starts in the lower chamber. Plus, many senators say they need to stay neutral right now in case they wind up as jurors in an impeachment trial.

When asked about criticism from Trump allies that he needed to do more to counteract impeachment proceedings, Graham responded: “I feel really good about what I’m doing.”

Earlier this week, Trump urged Republicans to “get tough and fight” for him on impeachment – a request House Republicans appear to be taking to heart. Dozens of GOP lawmakers stormed a secure facility Wednesday where impeachment investigators depose witnesses to protest the closed-door impeachment interviews – a stunt that caused a five-hour delay in testimony from Laura Cooper, a Pentagon official. The members refused to leave, which prompted intervention from the House sergeant-at-arms.

House Republicans also unanimously supported a failed effort to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who has emerged as Trump’s favorite punching bag in the impeachment fight.

And Trump is clearly taking notice: he fired off a tweet that specifically praised House Republicans, making no mention of the Senate GOP.

“Thank you to House Republicans for being tough, smart, and understanding in detail the greatest Witch Hunt in American History,” Trump tweeted Thursday morning. “It has been going on since long before I even got Elected (the Insurance Policy!). A total Scam!”

The Graham resolution could both please Trump and put pressure on Republicans like Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who have appeared open to considering the evidence in the House impeachment inquiry. Even Republicans who have declined to offer predictions on how the inquiry might end up have attacked Democrats for how they've handled impeachment.

But Romney appeared open Thursday to the Graham resolution.

“I’ll take a look at that, " Romney said. “I’d like to see a vote taken in the House to see if there’s support for an impeachment process. I’d love to see a more open process and I think it’s important we protect the whistleblower according to whistleblower law.”

Burgess Everett contributed to this report.

Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine

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