Former President Trump’s ex-chief of staff predicted that Democrats’ efforts to convict the former president in a Senate trial were “dead on arrival” following a vote Tuesday by most of the chamber’s Republicans to dismiss a second impeachment trial.
In a tweet, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows thanked Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and other Senate Republicans for supporting Paul’s efforts to dismiss another trial. Only five Republicans voted in favor of the trial, with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) joining the bulk of his caucus in voting against it.
“If today’s Senate vote is any sign, the Democrats’ ridiculous impeachment of former President Trump will fail—again—by a long shot. Dead on arrival. Good for @RandPaul and the 45 GOP Senators for standing up,” Meadows tweeted.
Some senators have maintained they are undecided on whether to convict Trump despite the vote Tuesday. Still, the five votes rejecting Paul’s effort to declare the impeachment trial unconstitutional is far less than the 17 GOP votes that Democrats need to successfully convict Trump.
The House moved to pass a historic second article of impeachment against the former president earlier this month following the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, when the president’s supporters stormed the building in an attempt to halt the certification of President Biden’s electoral win.
Meadows, a former North Carolina GOP congressman who served as Trump’s final chief of staff, was seen as one of the former president’s most ardent supporters amid Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results following his November defeat.