Susan Collins will vote to hear from additional witnesses

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced on Thursday night that she will vote in favor of additional witnesses and documents in President Trump's impeachment trial.

"I worked with colleagues to ensure the schedule for the trial included a guaranteed up-or-down vote on whether or not to call witnesses," she said in a statement. "I believe hearing from certain witnesses would give each side the opportunity to more fully and fairly make their case, resolve any ambiguities, and provide additional clarity. Therefore, I will vote in support of the motion to allow witnesses and documents to be subpoenaed."

She is the first Republican senator to say they will vote for more witnesses and documents. In order to reach 51 votes, Democrats need four Republicans to join them, and there are two Republicans who have sounded open to voting in favor of the measure — Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah. Murkowski told NBC News she will announce her decision on Friday morning.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Shortly after Collins made her announcement, retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) released a statement saying he would vote no on hearing from witnesses, as there is "no need for more evidence to prove something that has already been proven and that does not meet the United States Constitution's high bar for an impeachable offense."