Most Republicans vote against holding Trump’s 2nd impeachment trial

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Trump’s impeachment conviction will likely be impossible as the majority of Republicans voted not to proceed with the trial.
• To convict Trump on his historic second impeachment, votes of all Democrats plus 17 other Republican senators will be needed.
• Beyond questions of legality, the senators are also careful with targeting the former president because of his legions of devotees.

On Tuesday, the majority of Senate GOPs voted not in favor of proceeding with the momentous second impeachment trial of the former president. The recent result makes the highly anticipated conviction of Trump for “incitement of insurrection” improbable.

With a vote of 55-45, the Senate reserved Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s objection that would have affirmed the unconstitutionality of the impeachment proceedings. This indicates that the hearing on Trump’s impeachment, the first in history for an ex-president, will commence as planned on the week of Feb.8.

It was two weeks ago when the lower Chamber impeached Trump for provoking the Jan. 6 violent riots in the Capitol when he urged his followers to challenge and upturn his election loss.

However, the backing of 45 Republicans for asserting the trial unlawful shows that the conviction of Trump will be difficult.  To do so will need the nod of all 17 Republicans and Democrats or the Senate’s two-thirds.

And while many Republicans lambasted Trump over the assault in the Capitol, a lot of them have stood for him in the trial, displaying his lasting influence over his party.

“If more than 34 Republicans vote against the constitutionality of the proceeding, the whole thing’s dead on arrival,”

Paul explained just before the voting procedure. He recommended Democrats not proceed with their case considering the numbers. 

On Tuesday, the senators took vows to guarantee “impartial justice” as the trial’s jurors, a constitutional procedure that will test the allegiance of GOPs to former president Trump following the violent attack at the U.S. Capitol.

Paul, along with other several Republican senators, has questioned the legality of the proceedings and challenged whether Trump’s frequent calls to reverse Joe Biden’s victory election could technically be considered “incitement of insurrection.”

Other than legal concerns, the senators are also cautious of dealing with the former president and his platoons of supporters. Currently, security at the Capitol continued to be strict.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer commented that failure to start the impeachment trial is tantamount to letting everyone charged with illegal behavior go upon their departure from the office. 

Schumer said his colleagues should answer this question

“senators of both parties will have to answer before God and their own conscience: Is former President Trump guilty of inciting an insurrection against the United States?”

While some Republican senators have sided with Democrats’ stand, their numbers will not be enough to pin Trump.

Source: AOL