Trump impeachment 2.0 ends in the same manner as the first- acquittal, causing a divide amongst GOP members
The final vote was 57-43; all 50 dems voted yes, as well as 7 GOP members (ranked from least conservative to most): Collins (ME), Murkowski (AK), Romney (UT), Cassidy (LA), Burr (NC), Toomey (PA), and Sasse (NE). Collins, Murkowski, and Romney were the least surprising votes; all three were vocal on January 6th and later, not only supporting an impeachment, but supported a conviction. Their reasoning is likely due to their constituency being more centrist than others, as well as all three being mild critics of Trump throughout his presidency. The other four, especially Sasse, are a bit more surprising. These four have been pretty big Trump supporters (overall) and represent a more conservative constituency.
Sasse released a statement on his official government page, citing three reasons as to why he voted yes: first, he mentions Trump’s messaging around the 2020 election; second, about political violence and tribalism; and third, about the abuse of presidential power (read his statements in full here).
Cassidy, in a video statement, said “our constitution and our country is more important than any one person”. He went on to say “[I am] a constitutional conservative who took an oath to support and defend the Constitution” (to see the full video statement, please click here).
Toomey’s statement echoed the aforementioned statements- he cites Trump’s “betrayal of the Constitution” as the primary driver in his vote to convict. He goes on and says “a lawless attempt to retain power by a president was one of the founders’ greatest fears” (read his statements in full here).
Burr, in a statement released on his official government page, again echoed the other conservative members: “I have listened to the arguments presented by both sides…the facts are clear. The President promoted unfounded conspiracy theories to casts doubt on the integrity of a free and fair election because he did not like the results” (read his statements in full here).
We can’t have an article about the GOP or voting in the senate without the mention of Mitch McConnell. McConnell was interesting during the impeachment; while he did state that what happened on January 6th was sparked by then President Trump, he suggested that impeachment and conviction was “a limited tool” and that Trump wasn’t eligible for conviction. In a statement following the conviction vote, McConnell said “the Constitution gives us a particular role. This body is not invited to act as the nation’s overarching moral tribunal”.
Where do we go from here? Now that Trump is not convicted, he’s still allowed to hold federal public office. This opens up the possibility of him running for president again in 2024, and surely that’s a thought he is mulling over.
Speculation is that Trump may start his own party, the Patriot Party, and try to upend the current GOP. As of now (February 14th), there has been limited information on this. If Trump does start a third party, how could that change the electoral politics? What would that mean for the GOP? Would a serious third-party siphon votes from the GOP and allow the dems to win in 2024? That’s all coming up next, as well as a serious breakdown as to why we are a political duopoly!