10-20 GOP Senators Expected To Vote For Trump’s Removal: report

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During Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial in January 2020, where articles of impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress were brought against the president after he was accused of trying to extort a foreign country using congressionally approved aid funds, only one Republican senator stood against the Republican president: Mitt Romney. For Trump’s second impeachment trial, expected to be brought to the floor of the House on Wednesday, Romney will likely not be alone.

MSNBC reporter Kyle Griffin tweeted that as many as 10-20 GOP senators are likely to vote to remove Trump from the White House following his impeachment by the House. A 2/3 vote in Congress is needed to remove the president from office, which would mean every Democratic senator plus at least 18 Republicans would need to vote him out. With Joe Manchin (D-WV) publicly saying that removal from office is “so ill-advised,” he is unlikely to vote with Democrats. A total of 19 GOP senators, therefore, would need to vote with the majority of Democrats.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said during the vote to officially approve the vote of the electoral college electors, immediately following the attack on the Capitol Building, that:

‘In light of today’s sad circumstances, I ask my colleagues: Do we weigh our own political fortunes more heavily than we weigh the strength of our republic, the strength of our democracy, and the cause of freedom? What is the weight of personal acclaim compared to the weight of conscience?’

Trump’s removal from office would mean that he can never run for public office again, his annual salary and million dollar a year travel budget would be taken away, and he’d no longer have Secret Service protection after leaving the White House. Considering that he appears to have abandoned the office at this point, voting him out seems fair.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told The Anchorage Daily News that:

‘I think he should leave. He said he’s not going to show up. He’s not going to appear at the inauguration. He hasn’t been focused on what is going on with COVID. He’s either been golfing or he’s been inside the Oval Office fuming and throwing every single person who has been loyal and faithful to him under the bus, starting with the vice president. He doesn’t want to stay there. He only wants to stay there for the title. He only wants to stay there for his ego. He needs to get out. He needs to do the good thing, but I don’t think he’s capable of doing a good thing.’

 

The legal consequences for Donald Trump do not end with impeachment. Not only is the state of New York still pursuing an investigation into potential tax and bank fraud by the outgoing president, but the Department of Justice under Biden is not likely to be as kind to him as AG Bill Barr has always been.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NV) told CBS This Morning that:

‘Donald Trump has acted shamefully. He has been in flagrant dereliction of his duty. And he will be remembered for having inciting this and having drawn more division into an already divided people.’