The House Impeachment managers, led by Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), delivered the article of impeachment to the Senate on January 25, 2021. Senators were sworn in on January 26, 2021 for the second impeachment of Donald Trump for “incitement of insurrection.” The house managers waited outside the Senate chamber in the exact same spot rioters confronted Capitol police on January 6, 2021.
Senator Patrick Leahy, the president pro tempore who will be presiding over the trial, administered the oath to senators. Senators then signed the oath book declaring their intent to serve as impartial jurors. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who said the impeachment was “Dead on arrival,” challenged the constitutionality of an impeachment trial against a former president. Just five Republicans, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse and Pat Toomey, joined all Democrats in opposing the measure, an indication that Democrats will not attract the 17 Republicans that would be needed to convict Mr. Trump at trial. Most Republican Senators will not truly be impartial, they will not convict Trump because they fear him and his lunatic “base.” As Trump said in the past, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” Who knew he could kill 400,000 Americans and incite a riot on the Capitol building and not face consequences. He probably loves the idea of the trial since it will keep his name in the headlined for one more month before he fades into obscurity.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Paul’s interpretation of the Constitution was “flat-out wrong,” and noted that the Senate had previously held an impeachment trial for an official who was no longer in office in 1876. On January 27, 2021, Schumer insisted that the Senate would push forward with an impeachment trial of the former President despite not having the GOP votes needed.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine and Republican Senator Susan Collins have pitched their colleagues on supporting a censure resolution against Mr. Trump. Censure is a formal disapproval that can be adopted by one, or both chambers of Congress. Unlike impeachment, censure is not a power provided by the Constitution. Censure, is “stronger than a simple rebuke, but not as strong as expulsion.” For an authoritarian like Trump it is just a slap on the wrist.