Trump survives most bipartisan Senate impeachment trial in history

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday was acquitted by the Senate in an impeachment trial for the second time in just over a year. This time, a majority of senators voted guilty on the single article of impeachment — the final tally was 57-43 — but impeachment trials require a two-thirds majority for conviction.

All 50 senators who caucus with the Democrats voted to convict, and they were joined by seven of their Republican colleagues, including Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). That's the most conviction votes an impeached president has ever received from senators in his own party. In fact, in all three previous trials (including Trump's first) combined, only 1 senator voted to convict a president of the same party.

Romney, Collins, Murkowski, Sasse, and Toomey had long suggested they were prepared to vote guilty, while Cassidy appeared to flip earlier this week after he was disappointed by Trump's legal team. Burr's vote, on the other hand, legitimately caught folks off guard. The senator explained that while he still believes it's unconstitutional to try a former president, that opinion no longer mattered once the upper chamber went through with the proceedings, which he said convinced him Trump was guilty of inciting an insurrection.

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It's worth noting that Toomey and Burr will not be seeking re-election, and Cassidy's term doesn't end until 2026.