One week after the 6 January 2021 attacks on Capitol Hill, ten Republican lawmakers voted to impeach then US President Donald Trump for ‘incitement of insurrection’.
While a seemingly small figure, never before in US history had this many members of a president’s party voted for impeachment. Even after the attack on Capitol Hill, several Republican lawmakers continued to oppose the certification of Joe Biden’s electoral win, indicating there are many lawmakers who continue to support the former president, and that his base remains a significant force in American politics.
But, in the immediate days following the Capitol Hill attack, prominent Republican figures began to openly distance themselves from Trump, as seen through Vice President Mike Pence’s decision to attend President Joe Biden’s inauguration. More recently, House Republican members voted to keep Liz Cheney as chair of the GOP conference despite her vote to impeach Trump.
This panel examines the future of the Republican Party after Trump.
Participants
Professor Theda Skocpol, Victor S Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology, Harvard University; Director, Scholars Strategy Network; Author, The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism
Professor Nicholas Lemann, Joseph Pulitzer II and Edith Pulitzer Moore Professor of Journalism; Dean Emeritus, Columbia Journalism School; Director, Columbia Global Reports; Author, Transaction Man: The Rise of the Deal and the Decline of the American Dream
Chair: Dr Leslie Vinjamuri, Director, US and the Americas Programme, Chatham House
