Democrats heap praise on Romney's 'courage' and 'patriotism' for impeachment conviction vote

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) announced Wednesday he'd be the only GOP senator to vote to convict President Trump in his impeachment trial. He'll vote to convict Trump on abuse of power and to acquit him on obstructing Congress, but Democrats are taking that half victory and running with it.

Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) used a similar line of rhetoric to compliment Romney in Wednesday afternoon tweets, saying history would remember him "favorably" and "kindly" for his choice. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who's running for the presidency just like Romney did eight years ago, quoted a line from Romney's Senate floor speech revealing his vote and thanked him for his "act of patriotism" in a tweet.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) used the announcement to look back on his earlier words where he, as the House's lead impeachment manager, questioned whether "just one Republican senator" would "stand up against this dangerously immoral president."

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And Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) shared how he'd cried when Romney shared his mold-breaking vote on the Senate floor. Kathryn Krawczyk