Seven Republican senators voted on Saturday to convict former President Donald J. Trump in essentially the most bipartisan vote for a presidential
Seven Republican senators voted on Saturday to convict former President Donald J. Trump in essentially the most bipartisan vote for a presidential impeachment conviction in United States historical past. The margin nonetheless fell 10 votes in need of the two-thirds wanted to search out him responsible.
Who’re the seven senators? Just one — Lisa Murkowski — is up for re-election subsequent 12 months, and he or she has survived assaults from the precise earlier than. Two are retiring, and three received new phrases in November, so they won’t face voters till 2026.
Richard M. Burr of North Carolina
Mr. Burr, 65, a senator since 2005, isn’t in search of re-election in 2022. Regardless of holding Mr. Trump instantly accountable for the Capitol riot, he had voted in opposition to shifting ahead with the impeachment trial, and his choice to convict got here as a shock.
“As I stated on Jan. 6, the president bears duty for these tragic occasions,” Mr. Burr stated in a press release on Saturday. “The proof is compelling that President Trump is responsible of inciting an revolt in opposition to a coequal department of presidency and that the cost rises to the extent of excessive crimes and misdemeanors. Due to this fact, I’ve voted to convict.”
Invoice Cassidy of Louisiana
Mr. Cassidy, 63, a senator since 2015, was simply re-elected. Weeks in the past, he voted in opposition to shifting ahead with the trial, however stated he was persuaded by the Home impeachment managers.
“Our Structure and our nation is extra vital than anybody particular person,” Mr. Cassidy stated. “I voted to convict President Trump as a result of he’s responsible.”
Susan Collins of Maine
Ms. Collins, 68, a senator since 1997, was simply re-elected to a fifth time period. She has lengthy been vital of Mr. Trump’s actions, extending to the Capitol riot.
“That assault was not a spontaneous outbreak of violence,” Ms. Collins stated on the Senate ground after the vote. “Slightly it was the fruits of a gentle stream of provocations by President Trump that had been geared toward overturning the outcomes of the presidential election.”
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Ms. Murkowski, 63, a senator since 2002, is up for re-election in 2022. She has attraction for each Democrats and independents and received a write-in marketing campaign in 2010 after dropping the Republican major. She has harshly criticized Mr. Trump’s actions earlier than and in the course of the Capitol rampage, calling his conduct “illegal.”
“It’s not about me and my life and my job,” Ms. Murkowski advised a Politico reporter who requested in regards to the political danger she took along with her vote. “That is actually about what we stand for. If I can’t say what I imagine that our president ought to stand for, then why ought to I ask Alaskans to face with me?”
Mitt Romney of Utah
Mr. Romney, 73, a senator since 2019, is the one Republican to have voted to convict Mr. Trump in his first impeachment trial. A former presidential candidate, he made clear after the Capitol assault that he held Mr. Trump accountable.
“President Trump tried to deprave the election by pressuring the secretary of state of Georgia to falsify the election leads to his state,” Mr. Romney stated in a press release on Saturday. “President Trump incited the revolt in opposition to Congress through the use of the ability of his workplace to summon his supporters to Washington on Jan. 6 and urging them to march on the Capitol in the course of the counting of electoral votes. He did this regardless of the apparent and well-known threats of violence that day. President Trump additionally violated his oath of workplace by failing to guard the Capitol, the vice chairman and others within the Capitol. Each certainly one of these conclusions compels me to assist conviction.”
Ben Sasse of Nebraska
Mr. Sasse, 48, a senator since 2015, was simply re-elected. He has been a frequent critic of Mr. Trump and had signaled that he was open to convicting the previous president.
“On election night time 2014, I promised Nebraskans I’d at all times vote my conscience even when it was in opposition to the partisan stream,” Mr. Sasse stated in a press release. “In my first speech right here within the Senate in November 2015, I promised to talk out when a president — even of my very own social gathering — exceeds his or her powers. I can’t return on my phrase, and Congress can’t decrease our requirements on such a grave matter, just because it’s politically handy.”
Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania
Mr. Toomey, 59, a senator since 2011, isn’t in search of re-election in 2022. He had denounced Mr. Trump’s conduct; in a press release on Saturday, he stated had determined in the course of the trial that the previous president deserved to be discovered responsible.
“I listened to the arguments on each side,” Mr. Toomey stated, “and I assumed the arguments in favor of conviction had been a lot stronger.”