Louisiana's U.S. senators are set to continue as jurors in a second impeachment trial after splitting their votes on if it should continue.
The Senate voted 56-44 yesterday that a second impeachment trial for former President Trump was constitutional, with Louisiana's Bill Cassidy joining five other Republicans and every Democrat to vote yes. Louisiana's other Republican Senator, John Kennedy, voted no with 43 other Republicans.
“We heard arguments from both sides on the constitutionality of having a Senate trial of a president who has since left office. A sufficient amount of evidence of constitutionality exists for the Senate to proceed with the trial. This vote is not a prejudgment on the final vote to convict,” said Cassidy. “If anyone disagrees with my vote and would like an explanation, I ask them to listen to the arguments presented by the House Managers and former President Trump’s lawyers. The House managers had much stronger constitutional arguments. The president’s team did not.”
The Republican Party of Louisiana said it was profoundly disappointed in Cassidy's vote. "We feel that an impeachment trial of a private citizen is not only an unconstitutional act, but also an attack on the very foundation of American democracy, which will have far reaching and unforeseen consequences for our republic."
The impeachment trial is expected to last the rest of this week.
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