RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel says despite GOP divisions over Trump impeachment, the party 'overwhelmingly' agrees on most issues

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RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel says despite GOP divisions over Trump impeachment, the party 'overwhelmingly' agrees on most issues
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel.OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images
  • RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel says the GOP agrees on more issues than it disagrees.
  • McDaniel defended Trump's legislative record while criticizing Biden's actions in office thus far.
  • Trump's second impeachment trial divided the party in the House and Senate.
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Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel on Sunday said that the GOP remains "overwhelmingly" united despite divisions among lawmakers who voted to impeach or convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial.

During an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation," McDaniel said that GOP voters would determine the fate of Trump's influence in the party, but stressed that party voters still supported his agenda.

"The voters are saying overwhelmingly they agree with what President Trump did in office," she said, while bringing up President Joe Biden's cancelation of the Keystone pipeline and criticism over the pace of school reopenings.

McDaniel made her comments on the same day that Trump is set to reemerge at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida, in what will be his first major public appearance since leaving the White House last month.

The former president is expected to give a speech that appeals to his core conservative base and assets his place as the head of the GOP, despite Republicans like Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who are urging the party to return to its traditional roots.

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Ten House Republicans, including Cheney and Kinzinger, voted to impeach Trump for "incitement of insurrection" for his role in the January 6 Capitol riot, while 7 Republicans crossed over and joined all 50 Democrats to convict Trump in his Senate trial.

The final Senate vote was 57-43, ten votes short of the 67 votes needed to convict Trump.

Some state parties responded to the Republican defectors against Trump through censures and rebukes.

The party finds itself at a crossroads, having just lost the White House and holding legislative minorities in the House and Senate. It is unclear if Trump will attempt to run for president again in 2024, but he is expected to play a vocal role in the 2022 election.

However, McDaniel insisted that any disagreements will not impede the party's ability to stand together.

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"We can have division within our party, and you can have state parties say, 'I disagree with that vote and I disagree with what you did there,'" she said. "But overwhelmingly our party agrees with each other on more than we disagree with each other on."

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