GOP senators in spotlight as 2nd impeachment trial looms

WASHINGTON — For a second time, Republican senators face the choice of whether to convict President Donald Trump in an impeachment trial. While only one GOP senator, Utah’s Mitt Romney, voted to convict Trump last year, that number could increase as lawmakers consider whether to punish Trump for his role in inciting a deadly insurrection at the Capitol.

Whatever they decide, Trump is likely to be gone from the White House when the verdict comes in. An impeachment trial is likely to start next week, as early as Inauguration Day, raising the specter of the Senate trying the previous president even as it moves to confirm the incoming president’s Cabinet.

GOP leader Mitch McConnell, who says he’s undecided, is one of several key senators to watch, along with Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who is set to take the Senate reins as his party reclaims the Senate majority. Others to watch include GOP senators up for reelection in 2022 and several Republicans who have publicly backed impeachment.

At least at the trial’s start, all eyes will be on McConnell, who largely protected Trump during the last impeachment trial and refused Democrats’ pleas to call witnesses. This time,

Trump may not be so fortunate.

McConnell has told associates he is done with Trump and has said publicly he is undecided on impeachment. How he votes could sway other Republicans whose votes Trump needs to avoid conviction.

The impeachment trial coincides not just with the inauguration of Presidentelect Joe Biden, but also a change in Senate leadership to Democratic control. Two new senators from Georgia, both Democrats, are to be sworn into office later this month, leaving the chamber divided 50-50. That tips the majority to the Democrats once Kamala Harris takes office as vice president and breaks the tie.

On Inauguration Day, the Senate typically confirms some of the new president’s Cabinet, particularly national security officials, a task that could prove challenging. Schumer said he is working with Republicans to find a path forward.

“Make no mistake: There will be an impeachment trial in the United States Senate,” Schumer said. “There will be a vote on convicting the president for high crimes and misdemeanors.” And if Trump is convicted, ”there will be a vote on barring him from running again.”

MURKOWSKI, TOOMEY DENOUNCE TRUMP

At least two GOP senators — Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Pat Toomey of

Pennsylvania — have joined Romney in denouncing Trump.

In a statement Thursday, Murkowski said the House was right to impeach Trump, who has “perpetrated false rhetoric that the election was stolen and rigged, even after dozens of courts ruled against these claims.”

When he was not able to persuade the courts or elected officials, Trump “launched a pressure campaign against his own vice president, urging him to take actions that he had no authority to do,” said Murkowski, one of the few GOP senators to criticize Trump’s behavior during the impeachment trial a year ago.

On the day of the riots,

“President Trump’s words incited violence” that led to the deaths of five Americans, including a Capitol Police officer, as well as “the desecration of the Capitol,” Murkowski said. The insurrection briefly interfered with the peaceful transfer of power, she said, adding: ”Such unlawful actions cannot go without consequence.”

Toomey, a conservative who has generally backed Trump, made news on Sunday by calling on Trump to resign for the good of the country. While resignation was the “best path forward,” Toomey acknowledged that was unlikely. Trump’s role in encouraging the riot is an “impeachable offense,” Toomey said.