The U.S. Senate voted to acquit Donald Trump today on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) was the only Republican to cross party lines and vote to remove Trump from office.
Two notable red-state Democratic Senators – Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona cast ‘guilty’ votes.
This becomes the first bipartisan vote to remove a sitting president via impeachment.
From the New York Times:
The tally for conviction fell far below the 67-vote threshold necessary for removal and neither article of impeachment garnered even a simple majority.
The first article, abuse of power, was rejected 48 to 52, and the second, obstruction of Congress, was defeated 47 to 53. Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, was the only member to break with his party, voting to remove Mr. Trump from office.
The votes, ending the third presidential impeachment trial in American history, were a resounding victory for Mr. Trump after five months of blaring scandal over Ukraine that embroiled Washington and threatened his presidency. But both sides agreed that the final judgment on Mr. Trump will be rendered by voters when they cast ballots in just nine months.
Historical note: @MittRomney's vote to remove President Trump from office will make this the first bipartisan vote to remove a president from office in US history.
It will fail, as with Johnson and Clinton, but no Democrats voted to remove those two Democratic presidents.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 5, 2020
Doug Jones is up for re-election this year in a deep-red state. He’s in a much tougher spot than either Manchin or Sinema, who aren’t up until 2024. They could learn a little something from the backbone he’s showing in his decision to convict.
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) February 5, 2020
Mitt Romney will be the first senator in American history to vote to convict a president of the same party in an impeachment trial.
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) February 5, 2020
