Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy slammed former President Donald Trump’s impeachment lawyers and voted with a majority of Democrats Tuesday, saying the trial to impeach Trump is constitutional.
The Senate held a vote Tuesday night after several hours of arguments from both sides which would rule if the trial was constitutional. The vote to proceed with the trial and that it is constitutional was 56-44. Cassidy told CNN after the vote that the House impeachment managers had a “very good opening” and made “very good arguments.”
Cassidy was also asked if it was constitutional, to which he said: “I’ve always said I would approach this with an open mind and would listen as an impartial juror to both sides.”
He also said: “The House managers were focused, they were organized … they made a compelling argument. President Trump’s team, they were disorganized, they did everything they could but to talk about the question at hand.”
In January Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and a majority of Republicans, including Cassidy voted in favor of Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s motion to dismiss the impeachment trial against Trump, saying it was unconstitutional.
Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, smiles while speaking during a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee confirmation hearing for Denis McDonough, U.S. secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) nominee for U.S. President Joe Biden, on January 27, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo Sarah Silbiger-Pool/Getty Images)
As senators prepared for the impeachment trial, Paul introduced a motion arguing that the trial is unconstitutional since Trump is now a private citizen and exempt from facing removal from office.
However, five Republican senators and every Senate Democrat voted to table the motion, pushing Trump’s impeachment trial forward. (RELATED: McConnell Votes In Favor Of Rand Paul’s Motion To Dismiss Trump’s Impeachment Trial, Five GOP Senators Opposed)
Cassidy joined those five in the Tuesday night vote.
THESE SIX GOP SENATORS VOTED TO AFFIRM THAT THE TRIAL IS CONSTITUTIONAL:
- Lousiana Sen. Bill Cassidy
- Maine Sen. Susan Collins
- Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski
- Utah Sen. Mitt Romney
- Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse
- Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey
In order to convict Trump in the Senate, Democrats will need 17 Republican senators to side with every Democrat.