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As the drive toward the second impeachment of President Trump gathers steam, Republican dissenters are scrambling for some way to derail the train. Predictably, congressional censure is at the top of the list; House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, recently approached the No. 2 Democrat in the House with an offer to “deliver a large number of Republican votes for a formal rebuke if Democrats backed off impeachment.” The answer was no, and for good reason: Congressional censure is a cop-out and a toothless punishment. It’s only impeachment that leaves a mark.
On Tuesday, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, joined by six GOP colleagues, introduced a concurrent resolution “censuring and condemning President Donald J. Trump” for attempting unlawfully to “overturn the 2020 Presidential election” and provoking Jan. 6’s violent attack on the Capitol. Opting for censure rather than impeachment would, Fitzpatrick insiste