Washington dc /
The acquittal of the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, sparked division within the Republican Party leadership, as seven of the 50 senators voted in favor of accusing him of “inciting insurrection” during the January 6 congressional takeover.
Although Trump was expected to be acquitted in the political trial, the rift between Republicans will continue to deepen as the former president himself already announced that he will start “a patriotic movement” in the coming weeks.
In the end there were only seven, but in any case it was a remarkable break with the tradition of this party, usually united in the Senate. Who were the 7 Republican senators who voted to indict Trump?
Mitch McConnell, Trump’s biggest ally in the Senate who ended up “betraying” him
The leader of the Republican senators, Mitch McConnell, accusing Trump of being “responsible” for the deadly assault on the Capitol, just after he voted for the former president’s acquittal during a historic Senate trial.
“There is no doubt, none, that President Trump is, in fact, and morally responsible for having provoked the events of (the) day” on January 6, the influential senator declared.
In the same speech, McConnell justified his vote in favor of Trump’s acquittal, arguing that the Senate has no power to try a former president.
The assailants acted “because the most powerful man on the planet fed them with lies,” by denying his defeat in the Nov. 3 presidential election, he said. “Because I was angry. I had lost a choice. Former President Trump’s actions before the riots constituted a shameful, 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 he had indicated he would vote for the acquittal of the Republican magnate.
A “difficult decision,” he said, which certainly weighed heavily on the final vote, given its considerable influence on his parliamentary group.
McConnell remarked that although he thinks Trump could not be tried in the Senate because he is now an “ordinary citizen,” he could be sued for his actions as president.
“He is still responsible for everything he did while in office. He has not escaped anything yet,” he said.
Trump’s close ally during his four-year term, McConnell has not spoken to the former president since he acknowledged the victory of his Democratic rival Joe Biden in mid-December.
Richard Burr, Trump’s ‘investigator’ on ‘Russian plot’
One of them, Richard Burr, had previously voted that the procedure was unconstitutional because Trump left office on Jan. 20, a motion rejected by the Senate. However, he approved voting against the former president. Burr said while running for office in 2016 that he would not seek re-election in 2022.
The North Carolina senator had already been unpopular with Trump’s allies for his work at the front. Senate Intelligence Committee, Who had investigated Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Trump had opposed the investigation.
Susan Collins, Bill Cassidy and Ben Sasse, the accomplices in the political trial
Cassidy, the Louisiana senator, on Tuesday joined five Republican colleagues to vote that the procedure was constitutional, reversing his stance from a previous vote on the issue. Cassidy told reporters after House political trial managers filed Tuesday that they had “a very good opening.”
Meanwhile, Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse easily won re-election in 2020 and is considered a potential candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He was one of the first Republicans to retaliate that happened on Jan. 6.
Sasse publicly denounced Trump’s false claims of widespread election fraud here and said there was no basis to object to Democrat Joe Biden’s victory on November 3rd.
Meanwhile, Maine Republican centrist Susan Collins said Trump had incited the Jan. 6 riots.
Lisa Murkowski, the first to call for Trump’s resignation
The Alaska senator became the first to request a political trial against Trump, in addition to requesting his resignation after his supporters mutinied at the Capitol on January 6 to interrupt formal certification. of election by Congress.
Murkowski also questioned his own future in the Republican Party, warning that he could stop joining his ranks “if he remains a slave to Trump” on Jan. 8.
“I want him to resign. I want him out. He’s caused enough harm,” he said Murkowski, interview with the newspaper Anchorage Daily News days after the attack on the Capitol. “He has not focused on what is happening with covid-19. Either he has been playing golf or he has been inside the Oval Office blowing and making the cross to all the people who have been loyal to him. He just wants to stay here for his ego. He has to leave. He has to do what is right, but I don’t think he is capable of doing anything right. ”
Mitt Romney, the “black sheep” among Republicans from the start
Romney, a 2012 Utah senator and 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 political trial.
Romney has been moderately ousted from the Republican leadership since the start of the Donald Trump administration, being the only senator to support both political trials and without showing any support against the former president.
“The president is guilty of a terrible abuse of public confidence,” Romney said, days before the second political trial. “I am aware that there are people in my party … who will strongly disapprove of my decision, and in some sectors I will be vehemently denounced.”
Pat Toomey, the second to call Trump’s “boss.”
The Pennsylvania senator said in television interviews that Trump committed “crimes that can be prosecuted” and asked him to resign after the Jan. 6 attack. He was the second to ask to prosecute the former president.
“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 term, which he concluded. last January 20th.
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