Mr Trump has struggled to find attorneys willing to defend him after becoming the first president in history to be impeached twice. He is set to stand trial the week of Feb. 8 on a charge that he incited his supporters to storm Congress before President Joe Biden’s inauguration in an attempt to halt the peaceful transition of power.

After numerous attorneys who defended him previously declined to take on the case, Mr Trump was introduced to Mr Bowers by one of his closest allies in the Senate, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Mr Bowers, a familiar figure in Republican legal circles, had years of experience representing elected officials and political candidates, including then-South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford against a failed impeachment effort that morphed into an ethics probe.

Mr Bowers and Ms Barbier did not immediately return messages seeking comment on Saturday evening.

Republicans and Mr Trump aides have made clear that they intend to make a simple argument in the trial: Mr Trump’s trial is unconstitutional because he is no longer office.

While Republicans in Washington had seemed eager to part ways with Mr Trump after the deadly events of Jan. 6, they have since eased off of their criticism, weary of angering the former president’s loyal voter base.

CNN was first to report the departure of the lawyers.