Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) who is expected to preside over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, has been taken to a hospital.
“This evening, Senator Leahy was in his Capitol office and was not feeling well. He was examined in the Capitol by the Attending Physician. Out of an abundance of caution, the Attending Physician recommended that he be taken to a local hospital for observation, where he is now, and where he is being evaluated,” David Carle, spokesman for Leahy, said in a statement.
Sen. Leahy taken to the hospital.
— Daniel Strauss (@DanielStrauss4) January 26, 2021
"This evening, Senator Leahy was in his Capitol office and was not feeling well. pic.twitter.com/qpRQFN2IEz
The senator announced on Monday he would be presiding over the trial, as IJR reported.
“When I preside over the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, I will not waver from my constitutional and sworn obligations to administer the trial with fairness, in accordance with the Constitution and the laws,” Leahy said in a statement.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) forced a vote on Tuesday to determine whether Trump’s trial is unconstitutional, as IJR reported.
He argued on the Senate floor, the trial is “unconstitutional, that impeachment of a private citizen is illegal and essentially a bill of attainder, and that no sense of fairness or due process would allow the judge in the proceeding to be a partisan Democrat already on favor of the impeachment.”
Paul’s measure was rejected in the chamber in a 55-45 vote.
The five Republicans who said the trial is constitutional are, Sens. Mitt Romney (Utah), Ben Sasse (Neb.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Pat Toomey (Pa.).
Collins suggested, “it’s extraordinarily unlikely that the president will be convicted.”
Murkowski later told reporters, “Everyone was quite surprised… to take a vote on this today… I don’t feel like I was as prepared as I wanted.”
She continued, “The question deserved more considered review by us,” she added.”
