Senate Acquits Trump Despite Proven Abuse of Power; Romney Only Republican to Convict

The Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump on both impeachment articles on February 5, 2020, despite overwhelming evidence that he abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to announce investigations into Joe Biden while withholding military aid. On Article I (Abuse of Power), the vote was 48-52, with Senator Mitt Romney becoming the first senator in U.S. history to vote to convict a president of his own party. On Article II (Obstruction of Congress), the vote was 47-53, with all Republicans voting to acquit. The acquittal came after a trial without witnesses or documents, conducted with the outcome predetermined by Senate Republicans who prioritized partisan loyalty over constitutional duty.

Background

The acquittal was never in doubt after the 51-49 vote against witnesses on January 31. Senate Republicans had made clear they would protect Trump regardless of evidence, with many acknowledging his misconduct while arguing it didn’t warrant removal. The trial concluded after House impeachment managers presented overwhelming evidence from career diplomats, military officers, and national security officials that Trump solicited foreign interference in a U.S. election and obstructed Congress’s investigation. Trump’s legal team responded by attacking the process, questioning witnesses’ motives, and arguing the president’s conduct was acceptable.

Romney’s decision to vote guilty on Article I represented an extraordinary break with partisan expectations. In a powerful Senate floor speech delivered hours before the vote, Romney invoked his religious faith and constitutional oath, stating: “The grave question the Constitution tasks senators to answer is whether the President committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor. Yes, he did.” Romney concluded that Trump was “guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust,” citing Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to “investigate a political rival” while withholding aid. Romney’s vote made Trump’s acquittal bipartisan in its opposition—the first impeachment acquittal to include votes from both parties against the president.

Romney’s speech detailed why he believed conviction was required: “The President asked a foreign government to investigate his political rival. The President withheld vital military funds from that government to press it to do so. The President delayed funds for an American ally at war with Russian invaders. The President’s purpose was personal and political.” He acknowledged the political cost: “I’m aware that there are people in my party and in my state who will strenuously disapprove of my decision, and in some quarters, I will be vehemently denounced.” Indeed, Trump immediately attacked Romney on Twitter, and the Conservative Political Action Conference disinvited him.

Significance

The Senate’s acquittal established a devastating precedent: a president can abuse power for personal political gain without consequences as long as his party controls enough Senate seats to prevent conviction. The acquittal came despite facts that were largely undisputed—Trump pressured Ukraine to announce Biden investigations, withheld military aid, and obstructed Congress. Even Republicans who voted to acquit acknowledged the misconduct; they simply argued it didn’t warrant removal or that voters should decide Trump’s fate in the 2020 election (the very election Trump was trying to corrupt).

Romney’s vote to convict on abuse of power—while voting to acquit on obstruction of Congress—provided a moment of constitutional conscience amid partisan capitulation. His speech articulated what Republican senators privately acknowledged but refused to state publicly: Trump’s conduct was indefensible and represented exactly the kind of abuse of power the Founders designed impeachment to address. Romney’s citation of his Mormon faith and his father’s example demonstrated that some Republicans still recognized a duty higher than partisan loyalty, even as the rest of his caucus abandoned that principle.

The acquittal emboldened Trump to continue abusing power and undermining democratic norms. Within hours of the vote, Trump tweeted a video suggesting he would remain president indefinitely, and within two days he fired Lt. Col. Vindman and Ambassador Sondland in blatant retaliation for their truthful testimony. The Senate’s failure to hold Trump accountable sent a clear message that he could violate his oath of office without consequences, contributing directly to his subsequent attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his role in inciting the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

The first impeachment trial revealed that impeachment—intended by the Founders as a crucial check on presidential power—had become a dead letter in an era of extreme partisan polarization. When Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 65 that senators would be able to overcome partisan considerations when judging impeachments, he could not have anticipated a political environment where partisan identity became more important than constitutional duty. The acquittal demonstrated that a president could commit the exact abuses the impeachment power was designed to prevent and face no consequences as long as 34 senators prioritized party over country. This failure of accountability would have catastrophic consequences for American democracy in the months and years that followed.