A handful of Republican senators crossed party lines on Tuesday voting to affirm the constitutionality of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
The Senate agreed to consider the case against Trump by a 56-44 vote after hours of arguments by the former president’s legal team and House impeachment managers. A total of six Republicans – Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania – supported Democrats in calling for the trial to continue.
Cassidy voted to proceed with the trial just two weeks after joining other Republicans in a vote to reject the impeachment charge, claiming that the lawsuit against a former president would be unconstitutional. The Louisiana senator explained his reversal shortly after the end of the first day of discussions.
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“We heard arguments from both sides about the constitutionality of having a Senate trial of a president who stepped down,” said Cassidy. “There is sufficient evidence of constitutionality for the Senate to proceed with the trial. This vote is not a pre-judgment on the final vote to condemn.
“If anyone disagrees with my vote and wants an explanation, I ask you to listen to the arguments put forward by the managers of the House and the lawyers of former President Trump,” added Cassidy. “House administrators had much stronger constitutional arguments. The president’s team did not.”
Trump will be tried on a single charge of inciting insurrection after the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill. If convicted on the charge, Trump could be barred from running for office again in the future.
Trump’s legal team argued that an impeachment trial would be debatable because he is no longer president and cannot be removed from office. Lawyer David Schoen accused Democrats of trying to deprive voters who supported Trump in the 2020 election and of trying to silence a political candidate they disagreed with.
The House’s impeachment team, led by Maryland deputy Jamie Raskin, cited the 1876 corruption case against William Belknap, President Ulysses Grant’s secretary of war, as a precedent for putting a former federal official on trial.
In an emotional speech, Raskin asked the Senate not to create a “January exception” that would excuse the actions of goofy presidents just because they should step down.
In January, Cassidy was one of 45 Republicans who voted in favor of a motion by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky to declare the impeachment trial unconstitutional. Earlier this week, the Louisiana senator noted the circumstances that preceded the initial vote.
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“I think it is important to understand the nature of this vote. It was called two hours earlier. There was no debate or explanation from either side,” said Cassidy during an appearance on NBC News’ Meet the press. “It was a vote in a moment of time. And so, based on what the senators knew and felt at that moment, they voted. But now, hopefully, we will have presentations from both sides, and we will consider the evidence as impartial judges.”
While the Senate has produced enough votes to proceed with the trial, the Democrats’ path to condemnation is uncertain. At least 17 Republicans would have to vote to condemn Trump in order to reach the 67-vote limit, assuming that all Democrats maintained the party line.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer previously indicated that Democrats could blame Trump if the trial did not result in a conviction.