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Impeachment: Romney to cross party lines and vote to convict Trump

Posted at 2:17 PM, Feb 05, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-05 15:07:44-05

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said Wednesday on the Senate floor that he will cross party lines and vote to convict President Donald Trump on one of the two articles of impeachment that have been filed against the president.

Romney said he will vote to convict Trump on the article charging the president with abuse of power. He said he would acquit Trump on the article charging obstruction of Congress.

"The grave question the Constitution tasks senators to answer is whether the president committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor," Romney said. "Yes. He did"

Romney is the first Republican senator to announce that he will cross party lines to convict Trump in the impeachment trial.

The Senate will vote on the articles of impeachment Wednesday afternoon. Even with Romney crossing party lines, the Senate is expected to easily acquit Trump on both charges, considering Democrats only hold 47 seats.

Two-thirds of the 100 lawmakers in the Senate would need to vote to convict the President in order to remove him from office.