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Seven Republican senators voted on Saturday to convict former President Donald J. Trump in the most bipartisan vote for a presidential impeachment conviction in United States history. The margin still fell 10 votes short of the two-thirds needed to find him guilty.
Who are the seven senators? Only one — Lisa Murkowski — is up for re-election next year, and she has survived attacks from the right before. Two are retiring, and three won new terms in November, so they will not face voters until 2026.
Richard M. Burr of North Carolina
Mr. Burr, 65, a senator since 2005, is not seeking re-election in 2022. Despite holding Mr. Trump immediately responsible for the Capitol riot, he had voted against moving forward with the impeachment trial, and his decision to convict came as a surprise.
“As I said on Jan. 6, the president bears responsibility for these tragic events,” Mr. Burr said in a statement on Saturday. “The evidence is compelling that President Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection against a coequal branch of government and that the charge rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors. Therefore, I have voted to convict.”
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
Mr. Cassidy, 63, a senator since 2015, was just re-elected. Weeks ago, he voted against moving forward with the trial, but said he was persuaded by the House impeachment managers.
“Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person,” Mr. Cassidy said. “I voted to convict President Trump because he is guilty.”
Susan Collins of Maine
Ms. Collins, 68, a senator since 1997, was just re-elected to a fifth term. She has long been critical of Mr. Trump’s actions, extending to the Capitol riot.
“That attack was not a spontaneous outbreak of violence,” Ms. Collins said on the Senate floor after the vote. “Rather it was the culmination of a steady stream of provocations by President Trump that were aimed at overturning the results of the presidential election.”
Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Ms. Murkowski, 63, a senator since 2002, is up for re-election in 2022. She has appeal for both Democrats and independents and won a write-in campaign in 2010 after losing the Republican primary. She has harshly criticized Mr. Trump’s actions before and during the Capitol rampage, calling his conduct “unlawful.”
“It’s not about me and my life and my job,” Ms. Murkowski told a Politico reporter who asked about the political risk she took with her vote. “This is really about what we stand for. If I can’t say what I believe that our president should stand for, then why should I ask Alaskans to stand with me?”
Mitt Romney of Utah
Mr. Romney, 73, a senator since 2019, is the only Republican to have voted to convict Mr. Trump in his first impeachment trial. A former presidential candidate, he made clear after the Capitol attack that he held Mr. Trump responsible.
“President Trump attempted to corrupt the election by pressuring the secretary of state of Georgia to falsify the election results in his state,” Mr. Romney said in a statement on Saturday. “President Trump incited the insurrection against Congress by using the power of his office to summon his supporters to Washington on Jan. 6 and urging them to march on the Capitol during the counting of electoral votes. He did this despite the obvious and well-known threats of violence that day. President Trump also violated his oath of office by failing to protect the Capitol, the vice president and others in the Capitol. Each and every one of these conclusions compels me to support conviction.”
Ben Sasse of Nebraska
Mr. Sasse, 48, a senator since 2015, was just re-elected. He has been a frequent critic of Mr. Trump and had signaled that he was open to convicting the former president.
“On election night 2014, I promised Nebraskans I’d always vote my conscience even if it was against the partisan stream,” Mr. Sasse said in a statement. “In my first speech here in the Senate in November 2015, I promised to speak out when a president — even of my own party — exceeds his or her powers. I cannot go back on my word, and Congress cannot lower our standards on such a grave matter, simply because it is politically convenient.”
Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania
Mr. Toomey, 59, a senator since 2011, is not seeking re-election in 2022. He had denounced Mr. Trump’s conduct; in a statement on Saturday, he said had decided during the trial that the former president deserved to be found guilty.
“I listened to the arguments on both sides,” Mr. Toomey said, “and I thought the arguments in favor of conviction were much stronger.”
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