Sen. Mitt Romney has announced that he will vote to convict President Trump of abuse of power, likely becoming the only Republican to do so in the president's impeachment case.
Romney announced his decision on the Senate floor Wednesday ahead of the Senate vote. He said he would vote against the second article of impeachment, which accuses Trump of obstructing Congress. The senator called "perhaps the most abusive and destructive" violation of oath of office that I can imagine."
The senator said his decision to vote to convict the president was "the hardest decision" he has ever had to make.
Romney, along with Susan Collins of Maine, were the only two Republicans to vote last week in favor of allowing new witnesses and documents at the trial. It was not enough as Republicans were able to block it, 51-49.
Collins said Tuesday she will not vote to convict Trump.
The Senate impeachment trial is scheduled to come to a close Wednesday afternoon. It's expected he will be acquitted, bringing an end to a saga that started more than six months ago with Trump's phone call to a foreign leader asking for "a favor."
Even before the trial started, it was expected that Trump would not come close to the 67 votes needed to convict. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said as much, adding that he was coordinating with the White House counsel that was defending Trump.
Aside from Romney, Republican senators, who have a 53-47 majority, have mostly been in lock-step and shown little sign of being convinced to vote guilty.
