Trump's grip on GOP loosens as Rep. Cheney backs impeachment

President Trump refuses to accept responsibility for his role in fomenting a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week. Speaking to reporters before traveling to Texas on Tuesday, Trump says his remarks to supporters last week were “totally appropriate.” As President Trump denied responsibility for the U.S. Capitol assault that left five people dead, the FBI vowed Tuesday to prosecute hundreds of his supporters who took part in the attack, and several House Republicans — including the No. “Metal detectors outside of the House would not have stopped the violence we saw last week — it’s just another political stunt by Speaker Pelosi.” The FBI warned Monday that Trump supporters were planning armed protests at all 50 state capitols and the U.S. Capitol in the coming days. In an extraordinary message to all members of the armed forces Tuesday, the military’s top leadership called the Jan. 6 Capitol attack “a direct assault on the U.S. Congress, the Capitol building and our constitutional process.” The email message, signed by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark A. Milley and the uniformed heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force and National Guard, emphasized that Biden would be inaugurated next week and become commander in chief. The military leaders told troops that their job was to “support and defend the Constitution,” adding that “any act to disrupt the constitutional process is not only against our traditions, values, and oath; it is against the law.” During his brief public appearances Tuesday, Trump insisted that “we want no violence.” He said there was nothing wrong with his speech at the rally outside the White House last week, when he urged his supporters to march on the Capitol as Congress was conducting the ceremonial counting of the electoral votes to formalize Biden’s victory.