Tennessee Senators Oppose Holding Impeachment Trial On President Trump’s Involvement In Capitol Ransacking

January 26, 2021

WPLN News (File)

U.S. Capitol.

It’s not a surprise, but both of Tennessee’s senators supported an effort Tuesday to force a vote on the constitutionality of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial — a move meant to block the proceedings.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a longtime Trump supporter, explained her vote in a statement, saying it’s “time for (the) country to move forward, instead of looking backwards and fighting the same battles with each other.” She adds that the trial is “partisan” and “unconstitutional.”

Sen. Bill Hagerty also voted against holding a trial. He has previously said impeachment “will only further divide us when this should be a time of national healing.”

All but five Republicans in the Senate voted against holding a trial. At least 17 Republicans would have to join all 50 Democrats for Trump to be convicted.

Rachel Iacovone, Director of Multiplatform Publishing

Rachel Iacovone (YAH-kuh-VOAN-ee) is WPLN's Director of Multiplatform Publishing, which is a long way of saying she leads all the ways the news reaches you (this website, social media, This Is Nashville and more). She began her public radio career covering politics in Florida during the 2016 presidential race. In 2019, Rachel came to Nashville as a local Morning Edition, and later All Things Considered, host before her passion for data deep dives, visualizations, photography and social media storytelling pulled her off air and put her online fully.