October 18, 2019

Just over an hour ago, former Ohio Governor John Kasich told CNN that with sadness, he believes that Donald Trump should be impeached for his actions with regard to Ukraine and the political quid pro quo.

"When I heard what Mulvaney said -- the Chief of Staff to the president -- it pushed me really across the rubicon...My view is that -- look, I fought with people on the air about, is there a quid pro quo, and did this rise to the level of impeachment?" he told CNN anchor Ana Cabrera. I now believe it does and I say it with great sadness. This is not something I really wanted to do."

When Cabrera pressed him on whether he would also support a Senate vote for removal, he stopped short of saying Trump should be removed from office. "If you're asking if I was sitting in the House of Representatives today and you asked me, how do I feel, should impeachment move forward and go for a full examination and trial of the United States Senate? My vote would be yes and I don't say it lightly," he said.

This is a pretty big leap for John Kasich, who has assiduously avoided supporting Trump or impeachment. Will it mean much to Republican politicians? Probably not. But it does indicate a pretty strong breach in the GOP wall of unity they've maintained up to now, suggesting that the dam may break soon.

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