Senate votes down impeachment witness with 2 Republicans joining Democrats in opposition

The impeachment trial of President Trump has effectively come to an end.

After several hours of arguments over the issue, the Senate voted 51-49 against a motion to bring witnesses in Trump's impeachment trial. Two Republicans joined every Democrat and Independent to support the motion, but it failed to garner the support it needed and spelled the end of arguments in the trial.

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) were the two senators who voted in favor of the bill. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), once expected to perhaps support bringing witnesses, announced earlier they'd be voting against the measure.

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

The call for bringing witnesses in the Senate trial got a renewed push earlier this week when a reported clip from former National Security Adviser John Bolton's forthcoming book revealed Trump had talked with him about a quid pro quo with Ukraine. Bolton said he'd be willing to testify for the Senate, and ex-Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas also repeatedly pushed for himself to be called as a witness.

Following the vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) sent the Senate into recess, perhaps for the rest of Friday night.