On February 13, 2021, after a five-day trial, the United States Senate voted 57–43 to convict Donald Trump on one article of impeachment: incitement of insurrection. It was the most bipartisan impeachment conviction vote in American history. Seven Republican senators joined all 50 Democrats to vote guilty. It wasn’t enough. The Constitution requires a two-thirds supermajority — 67 votes — to convict. Trump was acquitted.
The Seven
Seven Republican senators voted to convict a president from their own party for inciting a violent attack on the building where they work:
Richard Burr (North Carolina). Bill Cassidy (Louisiana). Susan Collins (Maine). Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). Mitt Romney (Utah). Ben Sasse (Nebraska). Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania).
Four of them were retiring or not seeking re-election. Those who remained faced censure from their state Republican parties. Romney was booed at the Utah state convention. Murkowski faced a primary challenger. The message from the party was unmistakable: voting to hold a president accountable for an insurrection was a punishable offense.
The McConnell Maneuver
Mitch McConnell voted to acquit. Then he walked to the Senate floor and delivered a speech that should be etched into every high school civics textbook as an example of political cowardice dressed in legal costume:
“There’s no question — none — that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it.”
He said Trump was guilty. Then he voted to acquit. His argument: the Senate didn’t have jurisdiction because Trump was already out of office. But the reason Trump was out of office when the trial happened was because McConnell himself had delayed the trial until after inauguration. He blocked the conviction, then blamed the timing he controlled for why conviction was impossible. It was a closed loop of strategic absolution.
The Evidence
The House managers, led by Jamie Raskin, presented previously unseen security footage of the Capitol breach. Senators saw rioters hunting for Nancy Pelosi. They saw Eugene Goodman diverting the mob from the Senate chamber by seconds. They saw themselves being evacuated. They watched the violence that they had lived through, played back in real time. Some Republican senators were visibly moved. They voted to acquit anyway.
Bottom Line
Fifty-seven senators — a clear bipartisan majority — said Trump was guilty of inciting an insurrection against the United States government. The Senate Minority Leader said he was “practically and morally responsible.” They watched the footage. They saw their colleagues nearly die. They saw police officers beaten with flagpoles. And 43 senators decided that none of it warranted removing Trump from political life. They didn’t argue he was innocent. They argued they didn’t have jurisdiction. The building was still being repaired when they voted. The blood was barely dry. And the party line held.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Full timeline, vote counts, senator-by-senator breakdown of second impeachment trial.
- U.S. Senate: Official roll call vote, 57–43, February 13, 2021.
- Associated Press: Acquittal coverage and McConnell floor speech.
- New York Times: Trial verdict analysis and Republican senator responses.