When Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives, Mitch McConnell and the majority of Republicans in the Senate had already made their choice to acquit Trump.
While the argument was being given to remove Trump from office, many Republicans were complaining there was not enough evidence. However, these were the same people who had blocked bringing forward more evidence and witnesses in the first place.
Finally, the Senate had heard both arguments, and it was time to vote to consider new witnesses and evidence. The Senate voted to not investigate further.
This is the moment that will go down in history. This is the moment that sets a precedent for every politician in our country. This moment sends a message that you can do anything illegal as the president, and you can get away with it, even if the evidence is in plain sight.
Marco Rubio, a Republican senator from Florida, released his statement on why he voted against new witnesses and evidence.
“Just because actions meet a standard of impeachment does not mean it is in the best interest of the country to remove a President from office,” Rubio said in his statement released on Medium.
Rubio knows that what Trump did was impeachable, and yet he does not care. This fails to do what is right for the American people. It doesn’t matter what political party is in office, it is Congress’s job to hold the president accountable, and that did not happen.
In Rubio’s same statement he also said, “I will not vote to remove the President because doing so would inflict extraordinary and potentially irreparable damage to our already divided nation.”
What is interesting about this statement is that it would have been bipartisan for him to vote yes to consider more evidence and witnesses. This shows that this is only about which political party is in power. There are plenty of Republican politicians and citizens who have shared their distaste for Trump, yet they blindly support him without thinking about the outcome.
The Founding Fathers created the constitution to make sure each branch of the government was held accountable. The Senate showed us that no longer exists, and the only power they will check is the one of the opposite political party.
The only thing left for us to do is vote. Register to vote. Educate those around and make sure you are as informed as possible. If Senate will not remove Trump, then it is up to us to do it ourselves.
Emily Cousins
Junior
Applied music and journalism major
