Despite a Week From Hell, Donald Trump is Still the Most Powerful Republican in the Party

His Cabinet is shrinking, his legacy is crumbling fast and his reach to supporters is suddenly and severely limited. As President Donald Trump begins his week, he faces the very real threat of a second impeachment at a Capitol that now looks more like a besieged outpost in a conflict zone than a temple to democracy.

Few Republican lawmakers enjoyed being forced to barricade themselves in offices before fleeing to bunkers last week. The GOP Establishment watched in horror as Trump goaded his supporters to storm the Capitol in an attempt to bully lawmakers to overturn the results of November’s elections. State legislatures are fielding a shallower bench as lawmakers who participated in the insurrection last week have been forced to resign.

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And yet Trump’s hold over fellow Republicans appears to be as strong as ever. Even after a deadly siege, only a handful of lawmakers have come forward to join Democrats in saying it’s time for Trump to leave. The two Cabinet officials who have resigned thus far still peppered their resignations with lavish praise of everything that happened before Jan. 6. And the administration staffers who have stepped down two weeks before they were leaving anyway haven’t exactly taken to the streets to lend voice to a resistance.

In six polls taken since last week’s stunning invasion of the Capitol, the public is roughly split on whether or not Trump should keep his job until his term expires on Jan. 20. Four polls published details on how wide the partisan divide remains: almost a 70-point partisan gap. Roughly four out of five Republicans say Trump should be allowed to stay in office. His removal via the 25th Amendment, which requires a Cabinet vote and the backing of Vice President Mike Pence, or another congressional impeachment and trial are about as equally as unpopular with Republicans.

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