The Senate sent a strong signal Tuesday that there are not nearly enough votes to convict President Trump
Donald TrumpBiden to move ahead with billion UAE weapons sale approved by Trump Fox News hires high-profile defense team in Dominion defamation lawsuit Associate indicted in Gaetz scandal cooperating with DOJ: report MORE in an impeachment trial when only five GOP senators rejected an effort by Sen. Rand Paul
Randal (Rand) Howard PaulRepublicans need to stop Joe Biden's progressive assault on America Fauci fatigue sets in as top doc sows doubt in vaccine effectiveness Republican legislators target private sector election grants MORE (R-Ky.) to declare the looming trial unconstitutional.
The Senate voted 55-45 to set aside Paul's motion, with all but five GOP senators siding with Paul. GOP Sens. Mitt Romney
Willard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyFamily policy that could appeal to the right and the left Press: Corporate America defies the GOP Romney on NRSC awarding Trump: Not 'my preference' MORE (Utah), Ben Sasse
Ben SasseBipartisan lawmakers signal support for Biden cybersecurity picks To encourage innovation, Congress should pass two bills protecting important R&D tax provision Maine GOP rejects motion to censure Collins MORE (Neb.), Susan Collins
Susan Margaret CollinsSenate GOP signal they won't filibuster debate of hate crimes bill Democrats work to pick up GOP support on anti-Asian hate crimes bill Against mounting odds, Biden seeks GOP support for infrastructure plan MORE (Maine), Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann MurkowskiSenate GOP signal they won't filibuster debate of hate crimes bill Trump digs in on attacks against Republican leaders Nixed Interior nominee appointed to different department role MORE (Alaska) and Pat Toomey
Patrick (Pat) Joseph ToomeySasse rebuked by Nebraska Republican Party over impeachment vote Philly GOP commissioner on censures: 'I would suggest they censure Republican elected officials who are lying' Toomey censured by several Pennsylvania county GOP committees over impeachment vote MORE (Pa.) voted with Democrats to table Paul's point of order.
The vote is the clearest sign yet that Trump is heading toward a second acquittal and offers an early insight into which Republicans are lining up behind an argument that his second impeachment trial isn't constitutional.
Sen. John Thune
John Randolph ThuneMcConnell seeks to end feud with Trump McConnell brushes off Trump's 'son of a b----' comment Democrats work to pick up GOP support on anti-Asian hate crimes bill MORE (S.D.), the No. 2 GOP senator, said he thought the vote was "indicative" of where Republicans are but it doesn't "bind" them into voting a particular way on conviction.
Sen. Rob Portman
Robert (Rob) Jones PortmanIRS chief warns of unpaid taxes hitting trillion Businessman Mike Gibbons jumps into GOP Senate race in Ohio Hillicon Valley: Biden nominates former NSA deputy director to serve as cyber czar | Apple to send witness to Senate hearing after all | Biden pressed on semiconductor production amid shortage MORE (R-Ohio), who voted against tabling Paul's effort, said he didn't think the vote was about whether or not the trial was constitutional but if there should be a discussion. The vote effectively pigeonholed Paul.
Portman added that he thought Tuesday's vote and the eventual question of acquittal or conviction are a "totally different issue."
Trump will be the first president to undergo a trial after leaving office, but the Senate previously held an impeachment trial for a Cabinet official after they left office.
Paul, speaking ahead of the vote, warned that he wanted to force his colleagues to go on the record.
"If we are going to put every politician in jail, are we going to impeach every politician who has used the words 'fight' figuratively in a speech? Shame," he said, accusing Democrats of being "deranged by their hatred" of Trump.
"I want this body on record. Every last person here," Paul added.
Several GOP senators said heading into the vote that they hadn't made a decision on how they would vote, hadn't talked to Paul or, until they saw Tuesday's Senate floor schedule, didn't know he would force the vote.
"Until I read my notice from the leader this morning I didn't know there was a chance it was going to happen," said Sen. Roy Blunt
Roy Dean BluntSenate GOP opens door to earmarks Thune: 'There are Republicans who would vote' for smaller infrastructure package Republicans can't handle the truth about taxes MORE (R-Mo.)
Though some GOP senators have said they are waiting to hear presentations during the trial, a growing number appear to be latching onto the argument that the trial, which will start next month, is not constitutional.
Legal professor Jonathan Turley attended a closed-door GOP lunch where senators discussed the strategy.
Sen. Joni Ernst
Joni Kay ErnstExclusive: GOP senators seek FBI investigation into Biden Pentagon nominee Trump faces test of power with early endorsements GOP looks to squeeze Biden, Democrats on border MORE (R-Iowa) said in a statement Monday night that while Trump "exhibited poor leadership and holds some responsibility" for the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, that her "concern right now is that the president is no longer in office."
"Congress would be opening itself to a dangerous standard of using impeachment as a tool for political revenge against a private citizen, and the only remedy at this point is to strip the convicted of their ability to run for future office — a move that would undoubtedly strip millions of voters of their ability to choose a candidate in the next election," she added.
Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMcConnell seeks to end feud with Trump Senate GOP signal they won't filibuster debate of hate crimes bill Colin Powell on Afghanistan: 'We've done all we can do' MORE (Ky.), who has previously said that Trump "provoked" and "fed lies" to his supporters before they assaulted the Capitol, voted against against tabling Paul's effort. McConnell has said he's undecided on whether he will vote to convict the former president.
Both Romney and Murkowski said on Tuesday before the vote that they believed the trial was constitutional.
"My review of it has led me to conclude that it is constitutional in recognizing that impeachment is not solely about removing a president, it is also a matter of political consequence," Murkowski said.
Romney added that "the preponderance of opinion with regards to the constitutionality of a trial of impeachment of a former president is saying that it is a constitutional process."
Toomey declined to comment to reporters after the vote, but indicated in a statement that his vote does not mean he will convict Trump at the end of the trial.
“When President Trump’s impeachment trial begins on February 9th, I will again fulfill my responsibility to consider the arguments made by his lawyers and the House managers," he said.
Collins said she had been speaking with constitutional scholars.
"[I] concluded that the text of the constitution, the purpose of the provision, and Senate precedent all meant that the trial should go forward, especially since the House acted while the president was still in office," Collins said.
Democrats have panned the GOP push to deem Trump's trial unconstitutional, arguing that Republicans are trying to avoid having to make a decision on if Trump's rhetoric met the bar for conviction.
"Some of my Republican colleagues have latched onto a fringe legal theory that the Senate does not have the constitutional power to hold a trial because Donald Trump is no longer in office," said Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer
Chuck SchumerHolder, Yates lead letter backing Biden pick for Civil Rights Division at DOJ Capitol Police officer killed in car attack lies in honor in Capitol Rotunda Rep. Andy Kim on Asian hate: 'I've never felt this level of fear' MORE (D-N.Y.).
"This argument has been roundly debunked by constitutional scholars from the left, right and center. It defies precedent, historic practice, and basic common sense," he added.
—Updated at 5:38 p.m.
