Trump impeachment 2021: Ex-POTUS acquittal very likely

After only five Republicans joined with Democrats to move forward with a second impeachment trial of Donald Trump -- making a conviction of the former POTUS unlikely -- Democratic senators on Wednesday began rethinking their strategy in bringing Trump to justice for his alleged incitement of the bloody insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

In a procedural vote among Senate Republicans, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, along with 44 GOP lawmakers, voted to dismiss the trial, claiming it to be unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office.

"I think it's pretty obvious from the vote today that it is extraordinarily unlikely that the president will be convicted. Just do the math," Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said. Collins was one of the five Republicans who voted to move forward with the trial.

The Senate would need 67 votes to convict Trump for "incitement of insurrection," which means the former president would need to be found guilty by 17 Republican lawmakers.

The prospect of a likely acquittal has prompted some Democrats to seek alternatives to a trial. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia on Wednesday said he is planning to draft a bipartisan censure resolution against Trump.

"It could be an alternative. To do a trial knowing you'll get 55 votes at the max seems to me to be not the right prioritization of our time," he told reporters.

The censure resolution would declare that Trump aided his supporters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 by repeatedly making false claims about voter fraud during the 2020 election. If the censure resolution earns 60 votes from the Senate, Trump may be barred from ever holding federal office again.

The language for the censure resolution was taken from Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. However, it remains to be seen whether the resolution is enforceable.

Meanwhile, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday insisted that the Senate will proceed with the trial. He also condemned the effort to dismiss the trial as "deeply irresponsible."

"Make no mistake, there will be a trial, and the evidence against the former president will be presented in living color for the nation and every one of us to see once again," Schumer said. "We will all watch what happened. We will listen to what happened, and then we will vote. We will pass judgment as our solemn duty under the Constitution demands. And in turn, we will all be judged on how we respond."