Washington, Feb 13: Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell will vote to acquit Donald Trump in the former president’s impeachment trial.
That’s according to a source familiar with McConnell’s thinking who was not authorized to publicly discuss the decision and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Word of McConnell’s decision came Saturday before what is expected to be a final day in the historic trial on the charge that Trump incited an insurrection in the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
Many expect the Senate’s top Republican will back acquitting Trump of a charge of inciting rioters who assaulted the Capitol last month, but no one is really sure how McConnell will vote.
The Washington political universe and the world beyond will hold their collective breath when the Senate impeachment trial roll call reaches the Kentuckian’s name.
Over 36 years in the Senate, the measured McConnell has earned a reputation for inexpressiveness in the service of caution. This time, the suspense over how he’ll vote underscores how much is at stake for McConnell and his party, though it seems extremely unlikely that 17 GOP senators will join all 50 Democrats to convict Trump.
“The overwhelming number of Republican voters don’t want Trump convicted, so that means any political leader has to tread carefully,” said John Feehery, a former top congressional GOP aide. While Feehery noted that McConnell was clearly outraged over the attack, he said the senator is “trying to keep his party together.”
McConnell is the chamber’s most influential Republican and the longest-serving GOP leader ever, and a vote to acquit would leave the party locked in its struggle to define itself in the post-Trump presidency.
A guilty vote could do more to roil GOP waters by signaling an attempt to yank the party away from a figure still revered by most of its voters. (AP)
