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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other top Democrats on Friday slammed an upcoming vote that looks set to result in a quick end to President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
The New York lawmaker was responding to Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander’s announcement on Thursday night that he would not vote Friday to hear witnesses in the Senate trial.
“It’s deeply disturbing that on something of such importance to the future of our democracy, a few of my Republican colleagues announced last night they’d vote against hearing additional evidence,” Schumer said at a news conference.
“It’s clear where the American people stand on the issue. Republican senators who decide to go against the will of the people will have to reckon with it.”
Since Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, Alexander — a retiring lawmaker from Tennessee — was seen as the key swing vote for or against calling witnesses.
Related: Romney signals vote for witnesses may have a chance
And see: Complete MarketWatch coverage of Trump’s impeachment
“I would note that even in Sen. Alexander’s statement announcing his opposition to additional evidence, he said that it was proven that the president did what he was accused of,” Schumer added.
Even if the Senate somehow ends up voting for witnesses and documents later Friday, that’s widely expected only to prolong the trial, rather than lead to Trump’s ouster. That helps explain why the stock market DJIA, -1.34% SPX, -1.15% hasn’t reacted much to impeachment-related developments. A two-thirds majority of the Senate — or 67 senators — must vote to convict the president to remove him from office.
Opinion: For the stock market, impeachment is just a sideshow
And read: Why investors are so calm about impeachment — and what it would take for that to change
On Friday, Schumer aimed to portray the trial as bogus unless it involves witnesses such as John Bolton, the former national security adviser.
Related: Bolton’s book claims Trump said Ukraine aid was dependent on Biden probe
“If my Republican colleagues refuse to consider witnesses and documents in this trial, the president’s acquittal will be meaningless, because it will be the result of a sham trial,” the New York Democrat said.
Democratic lawmakers’ push to remove Trump from office has centered on his pressure on Ukraine’s president to announce investigations into Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden and his son, as well as into an unsubstantiated theory that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election.
