President Donald Trump was acquitted on Feb 12, 2020 by an almost straight party-line vote in the senate. The president was cleared of the impeachment charges stating that he abused his power and obstructed Congress to aid his own re-election.
A two-thirds majority vote is required in the senate for removal on each article and the vote fell far below the 67 votes needed to convict the president.
Due to a Republican controlled senate (53 republicans to 47 democrats), the vote would have required 20 republicans to cross party lines in order to convict the president. The only Republican to cross party lines was former presidential candidate and senator from Utah, Mitt Romney on the charge of abuse of power. By doing so, Romney became the first senator in American history to vote to remove a president of his own party from office.
“I will be one name among many, no more, no less to future generations of Americans who look at the record of this trial,” Romney said about his decision to cross party lines.
Many saw the whole impeachment process as a mistake by the Democrats due to the unlikelihood of conviction because of the Republican controlled senate. Now that Trump has been acquitted, it has been speculated that the whole ordeal will hurt the Democrats’ chances in the 2020 election.
In the aftermath of the trial, President Trump has removed all of the witnesses who revealed information about the Ukraine dealings from his administration. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, both part of the National Security Agency, were removed from office within 48 hours of the trial ruling.
Only time will tell what the impeachment trial ruling will mean going forward for the president and the country but there is no doubt that it will play a part in the election that will take place this fall. Whether it will help or hurt Trump’s re-electability is yet to be known.