On Saturday, seven Republican senators voted alongside 50 Democratic caucus members to convict former President Donald Trump. The final 57-43 count dropped short of the 67 votes expected to convict Trump on the House impeachment accusation of inciting the U.S. unrest on January 6.
The count overall, however, has been touted in U.S. history as the most bipartisan impeachment vote. The acquittal of Trump signals the end of a five-day impeachment trial.
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Mitt Romney of Utah, Richard Burr of North Carolina, and Ben Sasse of Nebraska are the GOP senators who supported Trump's conviction. Here is the seven Republican lawmakers' stance on why they decided to convict Trump, according to Newsweek:
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) speaks during the confirmation hearing for Marty Walsh, nominee for U.S. Labor Secretary, before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill February 4, 2021 in Washington, DC. If Walsh is confirmed, he will leave his position as the mayor of Boston.
Senator Lisa Murkowski addressed her reason for voting to convict Trump in a statement released Sunday. Murkowski believes that the facts are clear that the Capitol's violence on January 6 was not an uprising. Trump set the stage before the 2020 election by stating that the election was rigged, which cast doubt into American people's minds regarding the fairness of the elections, she said.
She continued that "President Trump was not worried about the Vice President; he was not concerned about members of Congress; he was not concerned about the Capitol Police. He was concerned with his election and retaining power."
Murkowski is the only one of the seven senators to be re-elected next year, raising rumors that she will face Sarah Palin's primary challenge.
Susan Collins of Maine
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: Senator Susan Collins, R-ME, speaks during the confirmation hearing for Labor secretary nominee Marty Walsh testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill February 4, 2021 in Washington, DC. Walsh was previously the mayor of Boston.
After the vote, Collins clarified her decision to convict the former President during a Senate floor speech on Saturday, saying that he created a 'dangerous situation' and put his 'selfish interest' before the country's interests. Collins added that Trump sought to discredit the outcome of the election and rile up his supporters to "fight" the fact of President Joe Biden's victory.
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Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 12: Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) talks to reporters in the Senate subway on his way to the fourth day of the Senates second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol on February 12, 2021 in Washington, DC. Trumps defense team begins their presentation of the defense that Trump should not be held responsible for the January 6th attack at the U.S. Capitol on First Amendment grounds and the fact that he is no longer in office.
In a video posted to Twitter on Saturday, Cassidy echoed Collin's voting stance to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial. Cassidy noted during an appearance on ABC News' This Week with host George Stephanopoulos that he "carefully listened to all the arguments."
Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty. pic.twitter.com/ute0xPc4BH
— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) February 13, 2021
However, as he described the insurrections, he believes it was an attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.
Mitt Romney of Utah
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 19: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) speaks at the confirmation hearing for President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for Secretary of State Antony Blinken before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill January 19, 2021 in Washington, DC. Blinken was previously Deputy Secretary of State in the Obama administration.
Romney expressed similar feelings on Saturday about his decision to vote against the former President. Referencing Trump's efforts to pressure the Secretary of state of Georgia to falsify the election results, Senator Mitt Romney said, "President Trump attempted to corrupt the election."
Richard Burr of North Carolina
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) speaks during the confirmation hearing for Marty Walsh, nominee for U.S. Labor Secretary, before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill February 4, 2021 in Washington, DC. If Walsh is confirmed, he will leave his position as the mayor of Boston.
Meanwhile, Senator Burr, who is planning to retire next year, voted to dismiss the impeachment trial based on constitutional grounds. However, yesterday, the Senator surprised many of the aisles by voting for Trump's conviction. Burr claims the Senate is an institution based on precedent and the majority in the Senate voted to proceed with his trial.
The constitutionality question is now an established precedent. "As an impartial juror, my role is now to determine whether House managers have sufficiently made the case for the article of impeachment against President Trump," Burr said in a statement released Saturday.
Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 10: Commissioner Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) speaks during a hearing before the Congressional Oversight Commission at Dirksen Senate Office Building December 10, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The commission held a hearing on “Examination of Loans to Businesses Critical to Maintaining National Security.”
Toomey stated on Saturday evening, following his vote to convict the former President, to express his disappointment with Trump's actions. Last year, the Senator announced he would not seek re-election.
He called on Trump last month to resign, saying that he was no longer a "credible candidate" for elected office. Toomey said in a Tweet that he is one of the 74 million Americans who voted for Trump because of his massive accomplishments. But his behavior betrayed the confidence of millions placed in him. "His betrayal of the Constitution and his oath of office required conviction," he added.
President Donald Trump’s defense team made several accurate observations at the impeachment trial. Many elected Democrats did want to impeach President Trump from the moment he won the 2016 election.
— Pat Toomey (US Sen. ret.) (@SenToomey) February 13, 2021
Ben Sasse of Nebraska
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 14: U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the third day of Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on October 14, 2020 in Washington, DC. Barrett was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who passed away in September.
Sasse said he made a vow to "always vote his conscience even if it is against the partisan stream." The impeachment trial is a public declaration of what the President has an oath of office and the behavior that oath requires if presidents in the future, the Nebraskan Senator noted.
Sasse became the first GOP Senator to express his willingness to oust Trump, two days after the riot. He told CBS anchor Gayle King that if the House comes together and has a process, he will consider whatever they might move as he believes the President has "disregarded his oath of office."
Read also: Impeachment Trial: 44 Republicans Voted Against Proceeding, Indicates Senate Will Acquit Trump
7 Republican Senators join Democrats in convicting Trump
According to The Sun, 48 Democrats and two independent senators joined the seven GOP senators voting to impeach Trump, who was accused of inciting supporters to bring the Capitol under siege.
With Murkowski, the only one of the party facing voters in 2022, most of them is not up for re-election. Toomey and Burr are not running for another term.
Romney is the only one who voted during his two impeachment hearings to prosecute the President. Last February, at Trump's opening impeachment trial, his guilty vote made him the first senator ever to vote to indict a president of the same party.
