Impeachment is coming.  When the GOP realizes they could lose the House in 2018 they may very well start impeachment proceedings specifically to keep their majority in the House. Plus they aren't going to object to the ascendancy of one of their own in Pence.  Trump's favor-ability ratings among independents and white Catholics who voted for him have eroded by more than 10% since April.  Politics being what it is, those numbers speak a whole lot louder to the GOP than the 'fake news media'.  So, Trump's Russia problem, however it's phrased,  is not an empty argument.