Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s decision to vote to convict President Donald Trump on articles of impeachment was one she kept to herself until the last minute.
That fueled speculation that she might cross the aisle and vote to acquit the Republican president, especially after she broke ranks with most Democrats during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address and applauded at some points he made.
In the end, Wednesday’s vote didn’t appear to be a hard call for Sinema.
“The facts are clear; security aid was withheld from Ukraine in an attempt to benefit the president’s political campaign,” she said in a lengthy statement just before she voted. “While White House attorneys claim this behavior is not serious, it is dangerous to the fundamental principles of American democracy to use the power of the federal government for personal or political gain.”
Republican Sen. Martha McSally’s view had been well known for weeks: She believed the trial was a flawed political process and voted to acquit.
“The Democrats simply failed to convince the Senate-or the American people-that the president should be removed from office,” she said in a statement.
The president was acquitted with a vote that mainly stuck to party lines except for Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who voted to convict on one count.
Sinema beat McSally in the 2018 race to replace Republican Jeff Flake. Gov. Doug Ducey then appointed McSally to the seat held by the late John McCain.
McSally faces a November election that will determine if she will fill the remainder of McCain’s term, which ends after the 2022 election. Her expected Democratic challenger, former astronaut Mark Kelly, said he would have voted to hear witnesses, something McSally and fellow Republicans rejected.
Without them, he said he would have had to vote based “on the available information, which includes the president’s own words and the case as it was presented.”
“Based on the facts we have, I would have voted to find him guilty on both charges,” Kelly said.
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