It is with near certainty that President Trump will be acquitted by the upper chamber this afternoon, but the eventual votes of a few moderate GOP senators were unknown. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was a wild card, and has said that she will vote to acquit the president, despite hesitation about his behavior. Breaking with Sen. Collins is Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who just announced he will vote to convict the president on the “abuse of power” article of impeachment.
Chris Wallace: "Again, do you believe that Donald Trump is unfit to serve as president and should be removed from office?"
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) February 5, 2020
Sen. Romney: "I do believe he should be removed from office. That’s the vote that I will take in just a short while." pic.twitter.com/CrDjcLYl0B
Romney on the Senate floor: “The president is guilty of a flagrant abuse of public trust.”
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) February 5, 2020
"The grave question the Constitution tasks senators to answer is whether the president committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor," Romney said.
— POLITICO (@politico) February 5, 2020
"Yes. He did" https://t.co/aJgEVmp7ut pic.twitter.com/psdbkgXG3a
Sen. Romney is the first, and perhaps the only, GOP senator to formally announce a vote to convict President Trump. It is possible that a few moderate Senate Democrats may vote with the GOP in favor of acquittal. With the support of moderate GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME), the Senate majority has the votes to acquit President Trump and put an end to this charade.
The Senate is set to convene at 4p.m. this afternoon, and is likely to vote to acquit President Trump.