The Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump on both articles of impeachment against him Wednesday, ending the months-long saga that began when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the impeachment inquiry last fall.
34 “not guilty” votes were needed for each article to acquit Trump. Senators voted 52-48 in favor of acquitting the president of the first article of impeachment — abuse of power. They voted 53-47 in favor of acquitting him on the second article — obstruction of Congress. In December, the House impeached Trump on both charges. The House voted on the two articles of impeachment, drafted by the House Judiciary Committee.
For abuse of power, the House voted 230-197; for obstruction of Congress, the House voted 229-198. The votes concluded a months-long impeachment inquiry process into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, which sought to determine whether he solicited foreign power for his own political gain. And as the inquiry unfolded, the White House’s refusal to cooperate and attempts to block witnesses from testifying amounted to obstruction of Congress, according to the articles of impeachment.
Earlier Wednesday afternoon, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney gave a speech on the Senate floor announcing his intention to vote for Trump’s conviction. In casting his guilty vote for the first article — but not the second — he became the first senator to vote in favor of the removal of a president in his own party.