NEW YORK -- After the FBI executed a search warrant at Donald Trump's Florida estate, the Republican Party swiftly unified behind the former president despite any previous cracks in his political support.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, perhaps Trump's strongest potential primary challenger, Tuesday described the Biden administration as a "regime" and called Monday's Mar-a-Lago search for improperly taken classified documents "another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the Regime's political opponents."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California accused the administration of "weaponizing" the Justice Department.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is gearing up for a presidential run, said he shared "the deep concerns of millions of Americans" over the search of Trump's private residence.
He stopped short of attacking the FBI, however. Instead, he said Attorney General Merrick Garland should "give a full accounting to the American people as to why this action was taken and he must do so immediately."
The FBI's unprecedented search of Trump's residence ricocheted around government, politics and a polarized country Tuesday along with questions as to why the Justice Department decided to take such a step. Answers weren't quickly forthcoming.
Agents searched Trump's estate, which is also a private club, as part of a federal investigation into whether he took classified records from the White House, people familiar with the matter said. It marked an escalation of law enforcement scrutiny of Trump, who faces an array of inquiries tied to his conduct in the waning days of his administration.
Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Josh Hawley of Missouri condemned the Justice Department.
Hawley called the search "an unprecedented assault on democratic norms and the rule of law." He called for Garland's resignation or impeachment and the removal of Christopher Wray as FBI director.
Cotton said Garland had "weaponized" the Justice Department against his political enemies. "There will be consequences for this," he said.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, another Republican weighing a 2024 run, called the search "unprecedented and alarming." But like Pence, he added, "We must see the probable cause affidavit before making a judgment."
Republican representatives Steve Womack and Rick Crawford, both of Arkansas, released their own statements on the raid, taking different tones similar to others in the party.
In his statement, Womack echoed Hutchinson and Pence, saying, "This unprecedented action by the DOJ requires a full explanation of the circumstances that necessitated executing a search warrant at the private residence of a former President. Under no circumstance should political motives be involved. The basis must show clear and convincing proof a crime was committed and that evidence related to it was at risk of disappearing or being destroyed ... Right now, we have more questions than answers."
Almost by contrast, Crawford echoed Hawley, speaking out against an "apparent abuse of power."
"The Biden White House, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and FBI leadership have a lot of questions to answer for what looks like an egregious and dangerous politicization of our nation's law enforcement apparatus. The new Congress will begin seeking answers to those questions in January," Crawford said in his statement.
TRUMP'S HOLD ON GOP
The GOP push to portray Trump as the victim of a politicized Justice Department sometimes sidestepped the potential criminal misconduct that justified the search in the eyes of a federal judge.
That judge, according to sources for the New York Post, is Bruce Reinhart, a U.S. magistrate judge for the Southern District of Florida. He was appointed by Florida district judges in 2018 during Trump's presidency.
"The GOP now fully embraces the notion that Trump should, indeed, be above the law, and that Trump 2.0 will be a bonfire of vengeance," wrote Republican commentator Charlie Sykes, a frequent Trump critic.
Some GOP arguments also overlooked Trump's role in hiring Wray, who also served as a high-ranking official in a Republican-led Justice Department. The Biden White House, meanwhile, said it had no prior knowledge of the search.
But the robust defense illustrates the former president's enduring grip on the GOP. Trump has overcome two impeachments and the fallout over the January 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. His allies said Tuesday that the FBI search would only strengthen his position once again.
"Trump just won the 2024 primary," pro-Trump commentator Jack Posobiec declared.
During a television appearance Tuesday morning, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said Garland and Wray, as well as Biden, should appear before cameras and "take all questions, explain why they're doing what they're doing, what each of them knew when."
"This should scare every American," Scott, who leads the campaign committee of Senate Republicans, said on Fox Business. "Until we get answers, you should have unbelievable concern."
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, also weighed in Tuesday morning, writing on Twitter: "Transparency brings accountability & if the FBI & DOJ aren't transparent about raiding a former presidents home they risk further damaging their credibility."
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., suggested in a tweet Tuesday that presidents should not be subject to criminal searches.
"If the FBI can raid a U.S. President, imagine what they can do to you," Stefanik, the third-ranking House Republican, said in a tweet.
Like several of her colleagues, Stefanik also pledged to launch an investigation into the Justice Department if Republicans take back control of the House next year.
A TRUMP CAMPAIGN
The FBI search also may also have triggered a shift among Trump's advisers, who had been privately urging him to wait until after the midterm elections to announce his intention to seek the presidency again. Suddenly, some of those same advisers were urging him to launch his campaign before the November midterm elections.
Trump stoked such speculation in the hours after the search by posting a campaign-style video on social media. "The best is yet to come," he said.
He followed up with a fundraising appeal, declaring that "it's important that you know that it wasn't just my home that was violated -- it was the home of every patriotic American who I have been fighting for."
In Columbia, S.C., Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said he spoke with Trump and felt sure another campaign was coming.
"One thing I can tell you," Graham said. "I believed he was going to run before. I'm stronger in my belief now."
As Republicans rallied behind Trump, Democrats pushed back against GOP claims of political interference. Some accused the GOP of a departure from its longstanding commitment to law and order.
"The FBI director was appointed by Donald Trump," noted Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California.
Asked if the raid might hurt Democrats in the midterms, she said, "You're talking about if the Justice Department decides to have a warrant to go in because they suspect something is justified, it's going to have an impact on the election? No, no, no, no, no."
Some of Trump's most vocal Republican critics still shied away from embracing the former president. And it is unclear how rank-and-file voters and independents frustrated by Trump's leadership might be moved by the developments.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former federal prosecutor and another of the many Republicans considering a 2024 presidential bid, noted Tuesday that a federal judge had to sign off on the warrant.
"The former president is presumed innocent," Christie said. "On the other hand, we can't immediately impugn the motives of the prosecutors just because they're from another political party."
"It's an extraordinary action. And there better be some pretty extraordinary facts to underlie it. If there are, then they have every right to do it," Christie said.
And some other Republican officials seemed to express continued concerns about Trump by refusing to weigh in at all.
The relatively short list of those GOP leaders who remained silent Tuesday was led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who has encouraged his party to move past Trump. He declined to react when asked to weigh in during a stop in his home state.
"I'm here today to talk about the flood and recovery from the flood," McConnell said.
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS AT MAR-A-LAGO
The search of Mar-a-Lago intensified the months-long probe into how classified documents ended up in boxes of White House records found at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. A separate grand jury is investigating efforts by Trump and allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Former Trump adviser Sam Nunberg said the FBI search would almost certainly strengthen Trump's standing among Republican primary voters, especially those who had begun leaning toward DeSantis or another fresh face. But if Trump is ultimately indicted for a federal crime related to the search, as Nunberg said he expects, the former president's ability to win over a broader group of voters in the 2024 general election could take a big hit.
"Despite the fantasies of everyone from [FOX commentator] Sean Hannity to [former Trump campaign aide] Steve Bannon, I can promise you that someone under indictment isn't going to get elected president of the United States," Nunberg said.
But on Tuesday, at least, the Republican Party was squarely behind Trump.
One of Trump's most vocal supporters in Congress, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, all but thanked the Justice Department for bringing her party together.
"I've talked a lot about the civil war in the GOP and I lean into it because America needs fearless & effective Republicans to finally put America First," she tweeted. "Last night's tyrannical FBI raid at MAR is unifying us in ways I haven't seen."
Information for this article was contributed by Steve Peoples, Jill Colvin, Meg Kinnard, Alan Fram and Lisa Mascaro of The Associated Press; by John Wagner, Leigh Ann Caldwell, Amber Phillips, Amy B Wang and Paul Duggan of The Washington Post; by the New York Post; and by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
CORRECTION: A U.S. magistrate judge is a judicial officer of a district court and is appointed by a majority vote of the court’s district judges. An earlier version of this story mistakenly stated that Bruce Reinhart, the U.S. magistrate judge for the Southern District of Florida who signed the search warrant authorizing federal law enforcement to search Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, was appointed by the former president in 2018.
Trump supporters carry flags near Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post via AP)
Edward Barkovskaya walks along a bridge near an entrance to former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. The FBI searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate as part of an investigation into whether he took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence, people familiar with the matter said Monday. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)