Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins says it’s clear that Democrats will not get the 67 votes they need to convict former President Donald Trump in a Senate impeachment trial, and that a proposal to censure Trump should be considered instead.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Kaine of Virginia is floating the idea of censuring Trump for inciting the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, instead of pursuing impeachment. Collins told reporters at an impromptu hallway news conference Wednesday that it is an option that should be considered.
“It seems to me that there is some value at looking at an alternative to proceeding with a trial, but that is not my call,” she says. “Is there another way to express condemnation of the President with regard to the riots.”
The language of the censure motion would closely follow the language of the 14th Amendment to the constitution, which allows Congress to disqualify a person from ever holding public office in the United States.
