WATCH: Sen. Lindsey Graham calls on McConnell to oppose ‘unconstitutional’ impeachment

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham took to FOX News on Tuesday night to call upon Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to oppose impeachment efforts against President Donald Trump.

“Number one, our country needs to heal, a second impeachment of Donald Trump after he leaves office wont heal the country,” Graham told Sean Hannity. “Another good reason, I think it is unconstitutional to impeach a person who is out of office. That will create never ending revenge against Presidents, particularly former Presidents.”

“As to the Republican Party, if we throw in the towel, or perceived to have thrown in the towel, and not fighting against this impeachment, the Republican Party, as Rand Paul said, will crack up,” Graham continued “So I’m asking Republican leaders in the Senate to lead.”

Graham went on to praise McConnell as a “smart guy” and a “street fighter legislatively” for his ability to help Trump pass policy through Congress, “but what we need right now is for Senator McConnell to unequivocally say that the second impeachment of Donald Trump after he leaves office is not only unconstitutional, it is bad for the country, and stand up and fight back.”

Graham further branded himself as an “institutionalist,” arguing that the proceedings of the House to impeach Trump were unfair. He noted that the impeachment process took less than 24 hours and Trump was not allowed a lawyer to defend himself.

“The Democrats have one goal here, and that is to deny President Trump the ability to ever run for office again. That should not be the Republican Party’s goal,” Graham asserted. Many Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have expressed their hopes that Trump would be barred from ever running for President again.

Graham’s comments came after the Senate reconvened on Tuesday. Having been out of session since before Trump’s impeachment in the House of Representatives, and with Trump’s term expiring at noon on Wednesday, the Senate would not be able to convict Trump before the end of his term.

Potentially impeaching Trump after he leaves office has raised constitutional questions, given that the impeachment process is designed to remove a sitting President. The constitution says nothing about impeachment of Presidents who have already left office.

Trump is the first President in American history to have been impeached twice by Congress. He would also be the first to be convicted by the Senate if the Senate votes as such.