The 56-44 vote, which fell largely along partisan lines, made history but did not shift expectations that Trump ultimately will be acquitted after being impeached by the House for a second time in the span of 13 months, yet another asterisk for the record books.
Convicting Trump would require a two-thirds majority in the 50-50 Senate. If every Democrat voted to convict the former president of inciting insurrection against the U.S. government on Jan. 6 at the Capitol, 17 Republicans would have to embrace the Democrats’ arguments and the punishment. That will not happen, senators in both parties agree (The Hill).
Only six Republican senators joined Democrats to vote in favor of allowing the trial to proceed after an afternoon that included dramatic video presented by House Democrats who serve as prosecutors (pictured above) and what even Trump defenders panned as wobbly counter-arguments from Trump lawyer
President Biden on Tuesday prodded lawmakers to "think big and move big" on his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package as House Democrats started to advance key parts of his plan, including a minimum wage hike to $15 per hour.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sat stone-faced with arms crossed in the august chamber Tuesday as Democrats made him part of the prosecution's exhibit No. 1, watching himself in a video montage of the U.S. Capitol riot as former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial got underway.
Senate sets stage for rapid Trump impeachment trial Mike DeBonis
Replay Video UP NEXT The Senate on Monday prepared to launch a historic second impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump on the accusation that he instigated the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot, with Democratic and Republican leaders agreeing on a rapid timetable that could bring the proceedings to a close within a week. The charge is serious, and the circumstances are unprecedented it is the first impeachment trial for an ex-president as well as the first time any president has been impeached and tried twice. But there is little drama surrounding its outcome: Most Republican senators have signaled that they will not be voting to convict a former president.