Breaking News
McConnell Says Impeach Vote is a Matter of Conscience
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) suggested that each Republican senator’s impeach vote is a matter of conscience. Also, he hinted that senators who disputed the trial’s constitutionality should still vote to convict the former president. This is according to a few sources familiar with the Minority Leader’s thinking.
RELATED: Senate Votes Impeachment Is Constitutional
Meanwhile, the Republican senator has yet to make up his mind on how he’ll vote. Previously, McConnell was among the GOP senators who voted “unconstitutional” as Trump already left office.
Different from the Last Impeachment
During former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, McConnell declared from the start that he didn’t consider himself an impartial juror. This time, Trump’s impeachment complaint is happening in a Senate featuring a Democrat majority. However, the majority remains razor-thin. The Senate has an equal member of Republicans and Democrats (Independents caucus with Dems). Democrats do hold the tiebreaker, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tiebreaker.
The current impeachment trial favors Trump, as a conviction will require a two-thirds majority to uphold. This means that apart from all 50 Democrats voting for “guilty,” an additional 17 Republicans should cross party lines and vote the same. At this point, getting 17 Republicans remains highly unlikely. The most Democrats managed to get are six Republican votes during last Tuesday’s debate. It questioned the constitutionality of the trial given Trump’s status as a former President. This suggests that most GOP senators won’t dare vote against the party’s stand.
The Impeach Vote is a Matter of Conscience
McConnell, in a leadership meeting Monday night, repeated his suggestion that the impeach vote is a matter of conscience. “We’re all going to listen to what the lawyers have to say and making the arguments and work our way through it,” he said to the media.
Already, the votes changed for at least one Republican. Senator Bill Cassidy (LA) joined five earlier GOP senators in voting along with Democrats. The other five senators, Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Mitt Romney (UT), Ben Sasse (NE), and Pat Toomey (PA) also voted with Democrats on Senator Rand Paul’s (R-KY) point of order regarding the trial’s constitutionality. After the Senate votes, Cassidy explained his vote. “The House managers were focused, they were organized … they made a compelling argument. President Trump’s team, they were disorganized. … One side is doing a great job and the other side is doing a terrible job. … As an impartial juror, I’m going to vote for the side that did a good job,” he said. Previously, Cassidy voted “unconstitutional” during Rand’s point of order.
McConnell Won’t Whip the Vote
Analysts say that McConnell asking party mates to vote according to their conscience is easy. According to the Intelligencer, all it means is that the Minority leader won’t ask Senators to toe the line and whip the vote. At present, there is no need to make trial votes a party matter in need of an exercise in discipline. However, he doesn’t have to. In the case of the impeachment trial, McConnell has yet to indicate there are possible movements similar to Cassidy’s decision.
Watch the Bloomberg Quicktake news video where Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell tells Republican senators that their Impeach vote is a matter of conscience:
Loading ...What do you think it means when McConnell said that Senators should vote as a matter of conscience? Do you think it means they can go their own ways to decide? Or, is it just political speak that requires voluntarily toeing the line? Share your comments in the comment section below and tell us how you feel about this.
41 Comments
This is still unconstitutional impeachment is reserved for removing the current president from office, not for this circus show. Roberts is not even presiding over the hearing! The democrats are just making up their own rules to suit them. Every congressman who voted to proceed with impeaching a private citizen is an enemy of the Constitution and a traitor to our country.
THE TURTLE IS SO STUPID HE NEEDS TO BE IMPEACHED. HE HAS NO CLUE AS WHAT THE REAL TRUTH IS. THE FBI KNEW THIS THREE DAYS IN ADVANCE AND DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO STOP IT. THIS WAS ALL PLANNED OUT BY ANTFA , BLM PROUD BOYS AND NO TELLING WHO ELSE PRESIDENT TRUMP HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. BUT THEY HAVE TRIED TO GET RID OF HIM FOR FOUR YEARS AND NOW THEY HAVE STABBED HIM IN THE BACK. REPUBLICANS ARE WEAK AND HAVE NO BACKBONE
Time for Mcconnell to retire he is no good .
Bob you and Dennis are right. This is just a another waste of tax payers money by the democrats. Any Republican who goes along with this is doing the country and his or her party an injustice. To say the President was calling for violence because he said we needed to fight for our country does not make sense. We use this rhetoric when we are referring to standing up for a cause. Not when we are calling for its followers to use violence. The fact that some took it to mean so, doesn’t make the President guilty of what they did. People twist what is being said all the time. People twist the scripture to justify their sins and way of life every day. That certainly doesn’t make the writers (Apostles/Old Testament Patriots) an advocate for what they do.
This is bull shit these cocksuckers are nothing but common thugs they should all be removed and replaced with American patriots impeachment is as big a sham as the fake election of Biden and the whore
If you don’t vote according to the Constitution, you should RESIGN like a good little communist!
Democrats showed a fixed up video with everything cut out of it when President Trump said PEACEFUL demonstration
The Republicans are mostly spineless. They need fresh blood and need to get these old tired bastards out. What do they care if they screw up the country. They gonna die soon and we will be the ones living with the damage. This wouldn’t be a problem if we had term limits. It’s a darn shame what all these politicians are doing to this country.
Your poll after this article left out one important choice: They should vote according to the Constitution. But of course, if the zconstitution had been adhered to to begin with we wouldn’t be having to endure this dog and pony show the Democrats are putting on.
With the vote we will know who the real RINOs are
Shouldn’t it be a matter of guilt beyond any reasonable doubt, or if not, then not guilty.
They should vote how the people elected them want to
Mr McConnel, your day is coming. You supported Mr Trump all the way up to what happened at the White House. I hope you were paid enough to salve your conscience, but in my opinion. You should be impeach instead.
Our country is in deep ( cow pop ) because Nancy’s big mouth and ignorant Politian’s.
Democrats should change the name of the party into communist Party. Impeachment of a private citizen is UNCONSTITUTIONAL. They are all traitors, conspirators, corrupted “politicians”, enemies of this great nation! WAKE UP AMERICA!!!It is time to clean up the swamp. MAGA!!!
IT IS TIME FOR THE OLD FOOL TO GO TO PASTURE !! HE SCREWED THE PARTY WHEN HE WOULD NOT SIGN THE STIMULAS BILL FOR 2 GRAND THATNLOST THE GA SENATE RACE BECAUSE THIS OLD A HOLE DIDN’T THINK IT WAS NEEDED AND HERE HE IS BACK AGAIN HE IS THE LEADER OF THE SENATE HE SHOULD BE SCREAMING HIS HEAD OFF TO GET THIS STUPID IMPEACHMENT DROPPED AND NOT TELL SOME OF THESE LIMP WRISTED SENATERS TO VOTE THEIR FEELINGS. HE IS NO LEADER HE IS A SNAIL.
Both factions of the big government party (democrat and republican) fear the return of President Donald Trump enough to risk their political careers to ensure he is impeached, even violating the Constitution to do so.
Lies to destroy America. These traitors actually think that ccp won’t put abullit in their heads when ccp is done with them.
Conscience has nothing to do with it.
They have to vote according to the Constitutional guidelines.
This is all a kangaroo court designed to prevent further exposure of the corruption and self serving swamp scum. McConnell is a fool and a traitor.
…Mc connell is a ‘RIHNO’ ALWAYS WAS..!!!.. MARRIED TO A CHINESE COMMUNIST & HER FAMILY IS HIGH IN THE COMMIE PARTY & BIDEN & CONGRESSIONAL DEMS & REPUBLICANS..!!!.. WE ARE UNDER COMMIE CONTROL..!! DUMP biden ….TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY.. FREEDOMS ARE AT STAKE..!!
Wow, I thought the turtle was bad but he is as incredibly incompetent as Biden and his herd of assholes that permeate the DNC.
Nadler, Schiff, Sawell, Pelosi, Schumer, AOC the balding lead of the Impeachable effort, the list is amazing to the level of utter foolery these band of rats represent. My fear is the GOP offers no help to this country and its confidence in leadership.
We may never return from the abyss of the former republic we so proudly belinged to. Cancel culture, Big tech, institutional malfeasance and lack of hope will be the death of this nation.
Indeed we spiral ever downward destroying the heitage and freedom we so dearly held to in days gone bye. Prayer is the only thing left, and that my friends is where we hang in the balance.
Rino Mitch is running with a low tank of gas.!He has sputtered for past several years but 2020 & now 2021’is showing him w I’ll informed he is. I will be voting for someone that supports Donald. Trump. Trump is not down by a long shot. & everything he did for for America &!voters of America.
God Bless Trump. & America. Send demos to Gitmo .
What a waste of time and taxpayer money. You know that this Congress is not there for the American people, where there are much more pressing issues and concerns this country faces besides impeaching a president no longer in office. This is dirty politics, and we as a nation have to sit and watch this ridiculous travesty.
Hey Mitch enjoy your run whilenit lasts. You’re pn your way out, and will go down in history as one of the most corrupt traitors to your party and America. Oh, and Mitch, what does Julian Assange have on you and others, that would make you threaten the President over a pardon? All things done in darkness will come to light!
I wish I lived in McConnells district – My conscience tells me to vote that has been out of office!
It is sad that people think they can run the country better than the people they elected to run it for them. The impeachment is constitutional as the offenses occured while Trump was still President. Because there are no clear black and white guild lines, there is enough grey area to allow the impeachment process to proceed even when a person is out of office to hold a person accountable for their actions while they were in office. To think that we could allow anyone to walk away and get away with murder just because they stepped over into another state is wrong, so would not going forward with the impeachment process, regardless of the outcome. People need to be aware of the truth of what happened, not the delusions of what they saw…in hopes they make better decisions in the futurs.
Judging from the above comments, I highly doubt many of you have read even 10% of the constitution. I am certain most of you wouldn’t even know the meaning of the “big” words or how to pronounce them. You sound like uneducated bar flies. All these thugs Trump sent to “fight”… Shame on you. Are you so brain washed you don’t realize Trump doesn’t give a damn about anyone but himself? You’re all so “special”. Don’t stoop to his level, the devil will be delighted the day he dies and arrives in hell. You CAN and should be better than that.
Thank you Kathy! Finally someone with common sense. Thank you, God bless.
History repeatedly it’s self 42,000just trust and Obey no other way to heal America 🇺🇸.? amen 🙏 wake up America and well all your congressman a letter and explain to him what the words say how about Robert want to walking in wisdom or walking him foolishness you should voucher devotions devotions not your motions emotions Energy we need to create I need to create a God-fearing country if not hoe do not apply god bless America????
Exactly like his two faced self means vote guilty! I want ever support him again he has been against president Trump for a long time I won’t ever support him again if he doesn’t support President Trump and I mean president Trump because he is legally president!
They should remove mitch and the other rhinos, some more of the democrat’s puppets.Mitch the BACKSTABER.
The Democrats and some of the Republicans will have a lot to answer for when this is all over and done with. They should have to pay out of their own pockets and not the American taxpayers. You know they have to be hiding something by silencing all the media and going against our constitution. They haven’t silenced all the media because truth is getting out. They are destroying what are fore fathers died for to give us freedom. They want the wrath of God to come down on us. They need to repent and seek after God. As for the ones who want socialism and communism get out of the United States because we want to keep our freedom and the United States was formed for freedom and religion. IN GOD WE TRUST! We have been blessed by God and God can no longer bless a nation with such wickedness. “Eph. 5:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,against the rulers of darkness of this world,against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Killing innocent unborn babies, murder, lying, stealing, cheating these things will cause a terrible death. We need to bind together and pray for truth to be revealed because God WILL NOT AND CAN NOT BLESS CORRUPTION!
The Democrats and some of the Republicans will have a lot to answer for when this is all over and done with. They should have to pay out of their own pockets and not the American taxpayers. You know they have to be hiding something by silencing all the media and going against our constitution. They haven’t silenced all the media because truth is getting out. They are destroying what are fore fathers died for to give us freedom. They want the wrath of God to come down on us. They need to repent and seek after God. As for the ones who want socialism and communism get out of the United States because we want to keep our freedom and the United States was formed for freedom and religion. IN GOD WE TRUST! We have been blessed by God and God can no longer bless a nation with such wickedness. “Eph. 5:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,against the rulers of darkness of this world,against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Killing innocent unborn babies, murder, lying, stealing, cheating these things will cause a terrible death. We need to bind together and pray for truth to be revealed because God WILL NOT AND CAN NOT BLESS CORRUPTION! As for being brainwashed Anonymous you better get all your facts straight and take in both sides of the story because all the facts are not there in what the Democrats revealed. They have done so much deceit and been caught in lies. Why not impeach the Clinton’s and Obama for what they have done? And also the Democrat’s that caused violent riots and threatened judges on tv if they didn’t go long with it? About planting people in the Trump supporters to start things up and they are not really Trump supporters? This goes for you to Kathy to get your facts straight before accusing others. This whole process of what the Democrats have done to President Trump makes me sick and what they have done to our voting system. I personally have lost faith in the voting system with what they have done. There is no accountability for our votes and even when we do pass something they say it is unconstitutional and cancel it out.
He is trying to be a dictator, all the senate should impeach Trump and make sure he NEVER holds any elected office again. Any Republicans that vote no should be worried about any reelection.
Mcconnell is as Big of an IDIOT AS THEY COME!
This is nothing more than wasting taxpayers’ money! If anything Mcconnell needs to be removed from office as well as EVERY LIBERAL DEMORAT THAT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS CHILDISH ACTION!!
You cannot FIX STUPID SO REMOVD THEM ALL AND PUT OUR DUELY ELECTED PRESIDENT BACK INTO OFFICE BEFORE THEY COMPLETELY DESTROY “ OUR COUNTRY”!!!! Biden and his SIDEKICK CANT EVEN TIE THEIR OWN SHOES WITHOUT WRITTEN AND just like CARTOON INSTRUCTIONS!! God HELP US ALL!! Not one DemORat knows the meaning of TRUTH…they have NOT A CLUE WHAT THIS WORD MEANS!!
the democrats are not the judge or the jury , if they want to have a trial , they need both and jurors are people that know nothing about what happened . they act like the KKK they want to hang because of his color .
McConnell is the idiot Trump helped him get reelected and this is how he repays him it looks to me that McConnell mental capacity has diminished to be in a rhino
I agree completely with you , Laurie – From everything that has transpired since this regime moved into office , I ask ,just who are you serving ? It appears that you are representing illegals and foreign governments rather than U S Citizens.
Your actions are not those of a democratic government but rather some form of a totalitarian government.
those of you who voted for this remember : You had the freedom to vote for this but you will not have the freedom to vote it out !
There are LOTS of politicians I could shoot in a heartbeat, were I able to and it was somehow made legal for me to do so.
Turtle is certainly one of them.
He is a rank POS.
I think it means that McConnell has deserted Trump and the Republican Party. He made a horrible mistake in thinking that the majority of Republicans would go along with his support of the Democrats and their hateful, dishonest, attempt to get rid of Donald Trump for good. I am going to write to the Sincere and patriotic leaders of the Republican Senate and tell them I will change my party affiliation to Non-party if they don’t get rid of McConnell and the other Republicans that voted to convict Donald Trump of illegal and trumped up charges in the impeachment charges. Where I stand is believing that all the Democrat supporters in this so-called trial are Republican deserters and they need to be ousted from the Republican Party.
McConnell’s handling of this major and costly event of fabricated charges in the illegal impeachment trial of Donald Trump is a classic example of how the Republican party has let down their supporters. In the way that they failed their supporters after the Tea Party bailed them out a few years ago, is the reason I changed my party to “non-affiliated” when they permitted Obama to take over. Unless the Republicans get some backbone and kick the traitors out of our party (those that voted against Trump), I will do the same thing later this year. I will get out of the Republican party and change my voting status to “Non-Party” again. Trust me when I tell you that I will let both the Senate and House leaders know that changes must be made, and not just words will satisfy me.