WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former President Donald Trump is the first U.S. president to be impeached twice – and will be the first to face trial after leaving office.
Trump is charged with inciting a violent insurrection, after giving a fiery speech on Jan. 6 urging his supporters to “fight” hours before hundreds of them stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory. Five people died during the attack.
Forty-five Senate Republicans voted that a trial would be unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office and cannot be removed. However, five Republican senators, along with all 50 Democrats, voted for the trial to proceed.
Here are the Republican senators that broke with their party:
BEN SASSE
The Nebraska senator is considered a rising star in the Republican party and a potential contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He publicly denounced here Trump’s false claims of widespread electoral fraud and said there was no basis to object to Biden’s victory.
LISA MURKOWSKI
Murkowski, a centrist Republican from Alaska, became the first U.S. senator in 50 years to win an election with a write-in campaign in 2010 after losing in the Republican primary. She called for Trump to resign after the Jan. 6 attack.
MITT ROMNEY
Romney, a Utah senator and the 2012 Republican presidential candidate, has been a vocal critic of Trump. In 2020, Romney was the only Republican senator to vote for conviction during Trump’s first impeachment trial.
PAT TOOMEY
The Pennsylvania senator announced in October 2020 he would not be seeking re-election. He said in television interviews Trump committed “impeachable offenses” and called on him to resign after the Jan. 6 attack.
SUSAN COLLINS
The Maine centrist was the only Republican senator re-elected in 2020 in a state also won by Biden. She said Trump had incited the Jan. 6 riot.
Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Aurora Ellis
