The U.S. Senate acquitted former President Donald Trump of inciting the riot at the Capitol Jan. 6. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was among seven Republicans who voted to convict.
The 57-43 vote was 10 short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict on an impeachment.
After Murkowski announced her “guilty” vote, she stared straight ahead, jaw set, journalists in the chamber reported. The senator seated at Murkowski’s right, Susan Collins, R-Maine, did the same.
Murkowski told a reporter afterward that she knew some Alaskans would be proud of her and some dismayed, and that there could be repercussions for her.
“But I cannot allow my vote, the significance of my vote, to be devalued by whether or not I feel that this is helpful for my political ambitions,” she said.
Of the seven Republicans who voted to convict, only Murkowski faces re-election next year. That others are:
•Richard Burr, of North Carolina, who is retiring.
•Collins, who just won re-election in November and doesn’t face the voters again until 2026.
•Bill Cassidy, of Louisiana, who was also just re-elected.
•Mitt Romney, of Utah, who is up for re-election in 2024.
•Ben Sasse, of Nebraska, who was just re-elected.
•Pat Toomey, of Pennsylvania, who is retiring.
Sen. Dan Sullivan voted “not guilty,” as did the majority of Republicans.
“Make no mistake: I condemn the horrific violence that engulfed the Capitol on January 6,” he said in an official statement Saturday evening. “I also condemn former President Trump’s poor judgment in calling a rally on that day, and his actions and inactions when it turned into a riot.”
But, Sullivan said, his review of the law and history led him to conclude that the Senate didn’t have the authority to impeach a president once he was no longer in power. His “not guilty” verdict was no surprise, since he had twice voted that the Senate could not try a former president.
“As I said during last year’s impeachment, the American people are well equipped to decide whether or not the former President should be disqualified from holding future office,” Sullivan’s statement reads.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
