The Senate just cast a preliminary vote on Trump’s impeachment trial – here’s the good and bad of it

| 3:33 pm EST January 26, 2021
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Rand Paul forced the Senate to hold a vote today on whether holding an impeachment trial of Donald Trump after he’s out of office is constitutional. Paul’s motion was shot down 55-45, meaning the trial will happen. That’s the good news.

The bad news, at least for the moment, is that only five Republicans voted in favor of holding an impeachment trial. That’s far from the seventeen votes required to convict Trump.

But here’s the upshot: the news keeps getting uglier about Trump’s role in trying to overthrow the election, inciting the Capitol attack, and trying to block a response to the Capitol attack. More ugly details over the next week could prompt more Republicans to shift toward convicting Trump. They’re keeping their powder dry for now.

In any case, Trump’s impeachment trial is a win-win for Democrats. Either they get a conviction, or they get to use acquittal against every Senate Republican who faces reelection in 2022. Don’t listen to the media trying to invent reasons why the trial is somehow a loss for Democrats. That’s just fear mongering for the sake of ratings. Don’t fall for it.