MONROE, La. – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) has joined five other Republicans in voting to proceed with the second impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
The U.S. Senate voted 56-44 Tuesday afternoon on the question of whether the Senate has jurisdiction and could proceed. All 50 Democrats also voted in favor of proceeding.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) voted against moving forward with the trial.
Cassidy’s office released the following statement after the vote:
“We heard arguments from both sides on the constitutionality of having a Senate trial of a president who has since left office. A sufficient amount of evidence of constitutionality exists for the Senate to proceed with the trial. This vote is not a prejudgment on the final vote to convict,” said Dr. Cassidy. “If anyone disagrees with my vote and would like an explanation, I ask them to listen to the arguments presented by the House Managers and former President Trump’s lawyers. The House managers had much stronger constitutional arguments. The president’s team did not.”
