The Senate will vote on whether to remove President Donald Trump for abusing his power and obstructing Congress on Thursday afternoon — an effort that is expected to fail — and one of few senators whose position had been unknown, Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., announced he will support conviction.
Sixty-seven votes are required to convict on each of the two articles of impeachment, and while several Republicans have said they believe Trump acted inappropriately in his dealings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as of Thursday morning, none have said they believe his conduct was impeachable.
The vote is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET.
So far, no Democratic senators have said they would acquit, although some from states where Trump is popular have yet to announce how they’ll vote.
Jones, who faces a difficult re-election battle in this year, announced Thursday he’d vote to convict.
“The president’s actions demonstrate a belief that he is above the law, that Congress has no power whatsoever in questioning or examining his actions, and that all who do so, do so at their peril. That belief, unprecedented in the history of this country, simply must not be permitted to stand,” Jones said.
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Speaking on the Senate floor, Jones acknowledged he could pay a political price in his state, where Trump is wildly popular and former attorney general Jeff Sessions, ex-Rep. Bradley Byrne, onetime Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville and disgraced former judge Roy Moore are all vying to be the Republican who runs against him.
“There will be so many who will simply look at what I’m doing today and say it is a profile in courage. It is not. It is simply a matter of right and wrong. Doing right is not a courageous act,” Jones said.
A spokesman for a Mitch McConnell aligned super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, issued a statement after Jones’ announcement saying it “would like to be the first to congratulate Doug Jones on his impending retirement from politics.” “It’s clear Jones has decided he’s better off auditioning for a low-level Cabinet slot in a Bernie Sanders Administration than reflect the will of Alabama,” SLF communications director Jack Pandol said.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., who called for the president to be censured instead of removed on Monday, indicated he was leaning toward acquittal Wednesday morning. He told reporters he’s “agonized” over how to vote.
“It’s been very difficult for me. It really has. I know my state and I know my people well. But I know this country well and I feel very strong about the decision I’ll make,” he said, adding that he was dispirited by the division shown by Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the State of the Union speech Tuesday night.
“I thought all of it, all of it was very bad. From the president not shaking the hand (of the speaker) to the response. Not good. Not good,” he said, referring to Pelosi tearing up a copy of Trump’s speech. “We need to unite the country. The country needs to be united.”
In his closing argument on Monday, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., pleaded for at least one Republican to stand up to the president and be among “the Davids who took on Goliath.”
“Every single vote, even a single vote by a single member can change the course of history. It is said that a single man or woman of courage makes a majority. Is there one among you who will say ‘enough!’?” Schiff asked.
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the GOP’s presidential nominee in 2012 who’s been critical of Trump, is viewed as the Democrats best hope of being that one person. Romney is expected to announce how he’ll vote at 2 p.m. ET.
House Democrats who passed the articles of impeachment in December acknowledged the president would likely be acquitted.
Rep. Katherine Clark, vice chair of the Democratic Caucus, said the president and his allies “will do a victory lap today” but added that “history and the truth are right behind them and will overtake them.”
Trump is the third president to be impeached in United States history. None have been removed from office.
Garrett Haake contributed.
