Report: McConnell Will Move For Immediate Acquittal Of Trump In The Senate
JakeThomas
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly will move to acquit President Donald Trump if articles of impeachment are sent from the House to the Senate for trial, according to The Hill.
Two senators told CNN this week that the Kentucky Republican would rather have a vote for acquittal to clear Trump of wrongdoing as opposed to holding a majority vote to merely dismiss impeachment.
In order to convict the president and remove him from office, the Constitution requires two-thirds of the senators present to vote in favor of removal, which is a total of 67 if all members are present for the vote.
Republicans appear convinced that they maintain enough votes against conviction to keep the president safe, as they currently hold a 53-47 majority.
Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) told CNN that taking this approach “would make more sense.”
McConnell has not given away his hand at this point but said earlier this week that he believes senators have “heard enough” to make up their minds.
"It could go down the path of calling witnesses and basically having another trial or it could decide — and again, 51 members could make that decision — that they've heard enough and believe they know what would happen and could move to vote on the two articles of impeachment," McConnell said during a press conference. "Those are the options. No decisions have been made yet."
