Washington DC
The acquittal of the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, caused divisions within the Republican Party leadership as seven of the 50 senators voted to charge him with “inciting insurrection” during the takeover of Congress on January 6.
While Trump was expected to be acquitted in the impeachment process, divisions among Republicans will continue to deepen, as the former president himself has already announced that he will start a “patriotic movement” in the coming weeks.
In the end there were only seven, but it was nonetheless a remarkable break with the tradition of this party, which was generally united in the Senate. Who were the 7 Republican senators who voted to frame Trump?
Mitch McConnell, Trump’s greatest ally in the Senate who ultimately “betrayed” him
The Leader of the Republican Senators, Mitch McConnell, accused Trump of being “responsible” for the deadly attack on the Capitol, just after voting in a historic senate trial in favor of the former president’s acquittal.
“There is no doubt that President Trump is in fact and morally responsible for causing the events of (the) day of January 6,” the influential senator said.
In the same speech, McConnell justified his vote in favor of Trump’s acquittal, arguing that the Senate has no authority to judge a former president.
The attackers acted “because the most powerful man in the world gave them lies” by denying their defeat in the Nov. 3 presidential election, he said. ‘Because he was angry. He had lost an election. Former President Trump’s actions before the riots were an embarrassing, shameful violation of his duties, ” McConnell said in a lengthy speech.
Just before the opening of the last day of the trial, McConnell remained very discreet about his intentions, which indicated he would vote for the Republican tycoon’s acquittal.
A “difficult decision”, he said, which certainly weighed heavily in the final vote, given his significant influence in his parliamentary group.
McConnell noted that while he thinks Trump cannot be tried in the Senate because he is now a “commoner,” he could be charged for his actions as president.
“He is still responsible for everything he did during his tenure. He has not escaped anything yet,” he said.
McConnell, a close ally of Trump during his four-year tenure, has not spoken to the former president since acknowledging the victory of his Democratic rival Joe Biden in mid-December.
Richard Burr, Trump’s “investigator” in the ‘Russian plot’
One of them, Richard Burr, had previously voted that the proceedings were unconstitutional because Trump stepped down on Jan. 20, a motion rejected by the Senate. However, he agreed to vote against the former president. Burr said during his 2016 election that he would not seek re-election in 2022.
The North Carolina senator was already unpopular with Trump allies for his work at the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who had investigated Russian interference in the 2016 US election. Trump opposed the investigation.
Susan Collins, Bill Cassidy and Ben Sasse, the henchmen in the impeachment
Louisiana senator Cassidy joined five Republican colleagues on Tuesday to vote that the proceedings were constitutional, reversing his stance from an earlier vote on the matter. Cassidy told reporters after House impeachment managers presented Tuesday that they had “a very good opening.”
Meanwhile, Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse easily won reelection in 2020 and is considered a potential candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. He was one of the first Republicans to condemn what happened on January 6.
Sasse publicly denounced Trump’s false claims about widespread voter fraud here, saying there was no reason to object to Democrat Joe Biden’s November 3 victory.
While, US Republican centrist Susan Collins said Trump sparked the January 6 riots.
Lisa Murkowski, the first to call for Trump’s resignation
The Alaska senator was the first to request impeachment against Trump, in addition to requesting his resignation after her supporters rebelled on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 to disrupt the formal certification of the election by Congress.
Murkowski also questioned his own future in the Republican Party, warning that he could leave its ranks on Jan. 8 “if he remains a slave to Trump.”
‘I want him to stop. I want him out. He’s done enough damage, ”she said. Murkowski, interview with the newspaper Anchorage daily News days after the attack on the Capitol. “He hasn’t focused on what’s happening with Covid-19. Either he’s played golf or he’s been in the Oval Office sniffing out all the people who had stayed true to him. He just wants to stay there for his ego. He’s got to do the right thing, but I don’t think he’s able to do anything right. ”
Mitt Romney, the “black sheep” of Republicans from the start
Romney, a Utah senator and a 2012 Republican presidential candidate, has openly criticized Trump. In 2020, Romney was the only Republican senator to vote in favor of the conviction during Trump’s first impeachment trial.
Romney had been moderately separated in the Republican leadership since the inception of the Donald Trump administration, being the only senator to support both political processes and without showing any support against the former president.
“The president is guilty of horrible abuse of public confidence,” Romney said days before the second impeachment trial. “I am aware that there are people in my party … who will strongly disapprove of my decision, and in some quarters I will be vehemently condemned.”
Pat Toomey, the second to ask for Trump’s “head.”
The Pennsylvania senator said in television interviews that Trump had “committed crimes that could be prosecuted” and asked to step down after the January 6 attack. It was the second to call for the former president to be prosecuted.
“It’s the best way forward, the best way to leave this character behind,” Toomey said, though he warned at the time that Trump would stay until the last day of his tenure, which ended January 20.
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