Fence-sitters debate, but acquittal sure

The Senate appeared set Tuesday to acquit President Trump in a party line verdict, with just a handful of members still mulling the critical impeachment question.

As the chamber gathered for one final round of floor speeches before Trump’s virtually certain acquittal Wednesday, only four senators remained on the fence about how to vote on the two articles of impeachment.

Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah was the lone Republican in the undecided camp.

He was one of just two Republicans who voted with Democrats in last week’s failed push to call witnesses in Trump’s trial.

The other pro-witness Republican, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, announced Tuesday that while she considered Trump’s bid for a Ukrainian investigation of Joe Biden inappropriate, she did not believe it warrants his removal from office.

“Therefore, I will vote to acquit,” she said from the floor.

With Collins’ vote locked in, Romney could make history in becoming the only Republican to vote in favor of removing Trump.

Such a vote from Romney would deliver a significant bipartisan rebuke of the president’s attempts to pressure Ukraine for politically motivated investigations while using $391 million in U.S. military aid as leverage.

On the Democratic side, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Doug Jones of Alabama remained undecided in the other direction.

As the small group of undecided senators continued to deliberate, the chamber’s top Republican railed against what he called the “constitutionally incoherent” case for removing Trump from office.

“This does not even approach a case for the first presidential removal in American history,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) (inset) said from the floor.