House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is suggesting that it is still an open question as to whether there will be enough Republicans who decide to vote to convict former President Donald Trump on the charge of “incitement of insurrection.”
During her weekly press conference on Thursday, Pelosi said the House impeachment managers will make their case before the Senate that Trump should be convicted.
“In the court of the Senate, they will make their case. In the court of public opinion, they will make their case. And for history and posterity… they will make the case,” Pelosi said as she noted she has “great confidence” in the lawmakers who will argue in favor of conviction.
She added, “We’ll see if it’s going to be a Senate of courage or cowardice.”
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the impeachment trial will test whether the Senate is a body of "courage" or "cowardice." pic.twitter.com/aF8GJPjN5w
— The Recount (@therecount) February 4, 2021
The Senate is scheduled to begin its impeachment trial of Trump the week of Feb. 8.
To convict Trump, at least 67-senators would need to vote in favor of conviction, and currently, there is a 50-50 split in the chamber. That means a minimum of 17 Republican senators would need to vote to convict the former president.
However, it is seen as unlikely that the impeachment managers will sway enough Republicans to vote for conviction. Forty-five Republican senators voted on Jan. 26 to declare the trial unconstitutional — which was seen as a sign that there will not be enough defectors to convict Trump.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) has been lobbying his colleagues to pass a censure resolution against Trump as an alternative to holding an impeachment trial as the measure would not require the high-bar of 67-votes.
However, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) signaled he plans to charge ahead with the trial as he told reporters, “[Trump] deserves conviction, nothing less.”
Still, he suggested he may be open to trying to pass a censure resolution after the trial.