白宫周一宣布，众议院八名共和党议员已被任命在唐纳德·特朗普总统的参议院弹劾小组中任职。
立法者团体主要由保守派煽动者组成，如吉姆·乔丹和马克·梅多斯，他们直言不讳地批评弹劾，并忠实支持总统。
共和党领导层此前曾就是否将众议院成员纳入总统弹劾团队进行过争论，因为许多人担心立法者缺乏审判的合适气质。参议员约翰·科宁本月早些时候告诉记者，上议院希望避免“众议院马戏团般的气氛”
“所以我认为对我来说很明显，如果总统选择一个不包括众议院成员的团队，我们将更有可能拥有宪法所要求的有尊严的进程，”科宁说。
参议员林赛·格雷厄姆本月早些时候对媒体表示，他也不认为将众议院共和党成员纳入这一进程是“明智的”，并且“我们需要将争论提升到政党政治之外”
但白宫支持将共和党成员包括在内的决定，并在一份声明中表示，他们“已经向白宫团队提供了指导，该团队被禁止参与民主党在众议院策划的程序”，并将继续在参议院这样做。
白宫补充说:“总统期待他们继续参与，并相信议员们将代表美国人民帮助迅速结束这种无耻的政治宿怨。”。
参议院的审判于周二正式开始，一个多月前，众议院就两项条款投票弹劾特朗普:滥用权力和阻挠国会。民主党人声称，总统试图向乌克兰政府施压，要求其调查潜在的政治对手，前副总统乔拜登，以换取近4亿美元的军事援助。特朗普否认了这些指控。
以下是特朗普团队中八名众议院共和党人的所有信息。
他们是谁:
佐治亚州的道格·柯林斯
路易斯安那州的迈克·约翰逊
俄亥俄州的吉姆·乔丹
亚利桑那州的黛比·莱斯科
北卡罗来纳州的马克·梅多斯
得克萨斯州的约翰·拉特克利夫
纽约的伊莉斯·斯特凡尼克
纽约的李·泽尔丁
他们会做什么:
虽然白宫没有具体说明议员们将会做什么，但他们不太可能在审判期间在参议院发言。这项工作将留给特朗普的其余法律辩护，由白宫法律顾问帕特·西珀隆领导。法律团队的其他成员包括特朗普的私人律师杰伊·塞库洛(Jay Sekulow)、前独立律师肯·斯塔尔(曾领导对比尔·克林顿总统的调查)和哈佛大学法学教授艾伦·德绍维茨(Alan Dershowitz)。
但是八名共和党人可以通过向白宫提供建议和向媒体发表讲话来产生影响。几乎所有被选中的议员都是众议院三个委员会的成员，这三个委员会与众议院弹劾调查关系最密切，因此对民主党任命的弹劾管理人员将提出的案件非常熟悉。
2019年11月13日，在华盛顿特区举行的众议院情报委员会弹劾调查听证会后，众议员吉姆·乔丹在对媒体成员讲话时停顿了一下。乔丹是八名众议院共和党人之一，将被任命为唐纳德·特朗普总统的弹劾团队成员。
他们对特朗普被弹劾的看法是:
约旦是过去几个月中最直言不讳的弹劾批评者之一。这位俄亥俄州共和党人一再为特朗普与乌克兰的交易辩护，称没有交换条件或压力安排。12月，约旦提出一项修正案，废除弹劾特朗普的“滥用权力”条款，但该措施被否决。
柯林斯是反对弹劾的关键人物，尤其是在众议院弹劾听证会期间，他是众议院司法委员会的最高共和党人。在被任命为特朗普的弹劾团队成员后，柯林斯在推特上表示，他“很荣幸能继续为总统而战”，弹劾“从第一天起就是假的”
莱斯科、斯特凡尼克和泽尔丁代表也是总统在众议院听证会上的重要代言人。斯特凡尼克因尖锐质疑前驻乌克兰大使玛丽·约瓦诺维奇而受到共和党同僚的称赞。听证会结束后，特朗普在推特上说，“一个新的共和党明星诞生了。”
众议院司法委员会成员约翰逊周一表示，他预计参议院的审判将“非常迅速”，总统将被无罪释放。作为对特朗普弹劾团队提名的回应，路易斯安那州共和党人说，“这不是关于形象，而是关于确保美国人民得到真实的事实。”
拉特克利夫周二出现在福克斯新闻上为总统辩护，参议院投票决定开始审判。拉特克利夫认为民主党人“不能进行宪法辩论，因为他们没有宪法辩论”，并且“弹劾失败”
TRUMP TAPS EIGHT REPUBLICANS TO SERVE ON IMPEACHMENT TEAM: WHO THEY ARE, WHAT TO KNOW
Eight Republican members of the House of Representatives have been tapped to serve on President Donald Trump's impeachment team during his Senate trial, the White House announced on Monday.
The group of lawmakers is largely made up of conservative firebrands—like Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows—who have been outspoken critics of impeachment and loyal supporters of the president.
The GOP leadership previously sparred over whether to include House members in the president's impeachment team, as many feared the lawmakers would lack the right temperament for the trial. Senator John Cornyn told reporters earlier this month that the upper chamber wants to avoid the "circus-like atmosphere of the House."
"So I think it seems obvious to me that if the president picks a team that does not include House members, that we'd be more likely to have the dignified process that the Constitution calls for," Cornyn said.
Senator Lindsey Graham told the press earlier this month that he also didn't think it was "wise" to include House GOP members in the process and that "we need to elevate the argument beyond party politics."
But the White House backed the decision to include the Republican members, saying in a statement that they "have provided guidance to the White House team, which was prohibited from participating in the proceedings concocted by Democrats in the House of Representatives," and would continue to do so in the Senate.
"The President looks forward to their continued participation and is confident that the Members will help expeditiously end this brazen political vendetta on behalf of the American people," the White House added.
The Senate trial officially kicked off on Tuesday, over a month since the House voted to impeach Trump on two articles: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Democrats allege that the president tried to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate a potential political opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, in exchange for the release of nearly $400 million in military aid. Trump has denied the charges.
Here's everything you need to know about the eight House Republicans on Trump's team.
Who They Are:
Doug Collins of Georgia
Mike Johnson of Louisiana
Jim Jordan of Ohio
Debbie Lesko of Arizona
Mark Meadows of North Carolina
John Ratcliffe of Texas
Elise Stefanik of New York
Lee Zeldin of New York
What They'll Do:
While the White House did not specify exactly what the members would be doing, it is not likely that they will speak on the Senate floor during the trial. That job will be left to the rest of Trump's legal defense, which will be led by White House counsel Pat Cipollone. Other members of the legal team include Trump's personal attorney Jay Sekulow, former independent counsel Ken Starr (who led the investigation into President Bill Clinton) and Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz.
But the eight Republicans can make an impact by advising the White House and speaking to the media. Nearly all of the lawmakers chosen sit on the three House committees that were most involved with the chamber's impeachment inquiry and therefore will be well versed in the case that will be presented by the Democrat-appointed impeachment managers.
Representative Jim Jordan pauses while speaking to members of the media after a House Intelligence Committee impeachment inquiry hearing in Washington, D.C., on November 13, 2019. Jordan is one of eight House Republicans to be tapped to serve on President Donald Trump's impeachment team.
What They've Said About Trump's Impeachment:
Jordan has been one of the most outspoken critics of impeachment over the past few months. The Ohio Republican has repeatedly defended Trump's dealings with Ukraine, arguing that there was no quid pro quo or pressure arrangement. In December, Jordan introduced an amendment to abolish the "abuse of power" article of impeachment against Trump, but the measure was voted down.
Collins was a key figure in pushing back against impeachment, especially during the House's impeachment hearings, as the top Republican on that chamber's Judiciary Committee. After being named to Trump's impeachment team, Collins tweeted that he was "honored to continue fighting" for the president and that impeachment "has been a sham since day one."
Representatives Lesko, Stefanik and Zeldin also served as important voices for the president during the House's hearings. Stefanik was lauded by her fellow Republicans for her pointed questioning of former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. After the hearing, Trump tweeted that "a new Republican Star is born."
Johnson, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said on Monday that he expects the Senate trial will be conducted "pretty rapid" and that the president will be exonerated. In response to being named to Trump's impeachment team, the Louisiana Republican said "it's not about image, it's about ensuring that the American people get the true facts."
Ratcliffe appeared on Fox News on Tuesday to defend the president as the Senate voted on a resolution to start the trial. Ratcliffe argued that the Democrats "can't make constitutional arguments because they don't have any" and that "this impeachment fails."
