WASHINGTON (AP) – The Republican-controlled Senate appears virtually certain to acquit President Donald Trump on two impeachment charges as GOP lawmakers rail against what they say is a rushed process and Democrats decry Trump as a threat to democracy. The historic, three-week trial has proceeded along partisan lines, with just a few undecided members even considering breaking with their party
Takeaways from Wednesday’s expected acquittal as senators conduct just the third impeachment trial of a president:
TRUMP’S IRON GRIP ON GOP
Some Republican senators have expressed reservations about Trump’s conduct; some even went so far as to say that House Democrats successfully made their case against him. Nonetheless, Trump’s acquittal was never truly in doubt in the Senate. Even Republicans who disapproved of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine – the heart of the House impeachment charges – said his conduct did not merit making him the first president ever removed from office.
In ways unimaginable when he was first elected as a political newcomer, Trump has come to utterly dominate the GOP. Republican lawmakers bow to his overwhelming popularity with the party’s base. “It’s not a party of ideas or ideology anymore. It’s a cult of personality,” tweeted Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.