After the U.S. House voted to impeach President Donald Trump on two counts on Wednesday, the action now heads to the U.S. Senate–and neither of the two Republicans representing Florida sound ready to remove Trump.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., weighed in on the House’s impeachment votes on Thursday as U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., pondered when to reach out to the upper chamber.
“Playing games with the transmission of the Articles to the Senate will not impede or influence the Senate, but it will be the kind of partisan political stunt that further undermines the credibility of the process carried out by House Democrats,” Rubio insisted.
“Not a single senator can be an ‘impartial juror’ in the traditional sense of a jury trial in court,” Rubio added noting that all 100 senators have “preexisting opinions” of Trump and seven either ran against Trump in 2016 or hope to in 2020, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. “Sen. Warren decided to convict before the House even revealed the articles,” Rubio noted.
“The question before each senator isn’t whether” Trump “did something offensive, wrong, improper or even bad for the country,” Rubio continued. “The question is whether he has, (within the meaning of the Constitution) committed: treason; bribery; and/or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Looking ahead to his own vote, Rubio offered some insights on how his process.
“The Constitution provides no guidelines for how senators should arrive at their decision,” Rubio noted. “My decision will be guided by two factors: 1. conviction carries a mandatory and extraordinary minimum sentence, removal from office; 2. an alternative remedy is available, the 2020 election. Therefore my decision will be based on a two-pronged test: 1. Did the president commit treason, bribery and/or a high crime or misdemeanor as meant by Constitution; and 2. If so, does it rise to a level warranting removal or is it best left for voters to decide in just 11 months.”
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., weighed in on the impeachment battle on Wednesday night and took aim the Democrats.
“The House Democrats just spent a month confirming that the president did nothing wrong and that this impeachment circus is nothing but partisan politics. Today’s vote solidifies how little the Democrats care about what’s really important to the American people. It’s clear all they care about are political games. This is sad and embarrassing, but I came to Washington to get something done for the American people. I look forward to getting back to working on all the things that aren’t getting done, like passing No Budget, No Pay, securing the border, and lowering drug prices for American families,” Scott said.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
