ON THE FENCE

McConnell Still Can’t Decide Whether to Vote for Trump’s Impeachment, Says Report

The Senate minority leader appears to be having a crisis of conscience, even after voting Tuesday to declare the Trump insurrection trial unconstitutional.

Only six Republican senators joined with Democrats on Tuesday to affirm that an impeachment trial of a former president is constitutional—and those six did not include Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. However, Bloomberg News reports the Kentucky Republican is still weighing up whether he’ll ultimately vote for Donald Trump’s impeachment, and has signaled to his Senate colleagues that they’re free to vote with their consciences on the matter—and not along simple party lines. At least 17 Republicans would have to vote with Democrats in the 50-50 chamber to reach the required two-thirds majority to convict Trump of the House’s impeachment charge of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection. Given the meager numbers who voted to declare the trial constitutional, it appears extremely unlikely that the threshold will be reached.