Trump supporters rejoice.
The Republican controlled Senate voted Friday against the Democrat effort to introduce witnesses at the impeachment trial.
This means impeachment is all but dead.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Senators Reject Witnesses in Trump Impeachment Trial
Senate Republicans rejected Democrats’ demands to call new witnesses and documents in President Trump’s impeachment trial, clearing the way for an acquittal on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress charges next week.
The 51-49 vote late Friday afternoon represented a major victory for Republican leadership, which has sought to complete the trial as quickly as possible and avoid testimony that could be politically damaging. Democrats had spent weeks calling for the Senate to subpoena former national security adviser John Bolton and other officials, seeking testimony about Mr. Trump’s efforts to press Ukraine to launch investigations that could benefit him politically.
Two Republicans, Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine, joined every Democrat to vote for the Senate to call in new witnesses. The GOP controls 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats.
Under a separate resolution that Republicans approved along party lines, the impeachment trial will break for the weekend and resume Monday at 11 a.m. EST for four hours of arguments. After those arguments, the trial will adjourn again, giving senators the opportunity to speak on the floor about the charges before returning for a vote on the articles of impeachment at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
Mitch McConnell spoke for Republicans, explaining their position:
McConnell: "A majority of the U.S. Senate has determined that the numerous witnesses and 28,000-plus pages of documents already in evidence are sufficient to judge the House Managers’ accusations and end this impeachment trial."
— Doug Andres (@DougAndres) January 31, 2020
"Senators will now confer among ourselves, with the House Managers, and with the President’s counsel to determine next steps as we prepare to conclude the trial in the coming days."
— Doug Andres (@DougAndres) January 31, 2020
The vote to acquit is going to happen next week and some Democrats are expected to join Republicans, making it a bipartisan vote.
The circus is almost officially over.
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