The Senate reaffirmed its power to try Donald Trump for the charge for which he was impeached by the House, incitement of insurrection, passing another attempt by Republicans to throw out the impeachment.
By a vote of 55-45, the Senate denied a motion on the floor presented by Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, claiming that it was unconstitutional to try the impeachment case for the ex-president because he was out of office, even through there’s historical precedent for impeaching former office-holders so they could not hold future office.
Five Republicans–Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania–voted with Democrats to push the case forward.
The Republicans were hoping that a process argument would dismiss the second impeachment, with many fearful of standing up against the former president due to the perceived political influence of Trump.
With 45 Republicans voting that the trial is unconstitutional, the likelihood of getting 67 for a conviction seems slim, although the Senate can vote to exclude Trump from future office by invoking the 14th Amendment.