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Senate Vote To Call Witnesses Temporarily Throws Trial Into Uncertainty

In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump and says he would like to subpoena Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler.
AP
In this image from video, House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) speaks during the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump and says he would like to subpoena Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler.

Updated at 10:45 a.m. ET

The Senate voted this morning to call witnesses in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.

The vote, which was 55-45, throws a new wrinkle into the proceeding, which had been on a fast track, with many Senators from both sides of the aisle anxious to put it behind them and move on.

House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) wants to subpoena Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) about a phone call she had with House minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). In a statement released last night, McCarthy, she said, told her of a phone call he received from Trump telling him that the mob storming the Capitol on January 6th was "more upset about the election than you are."

Raskin suggested deposing Herrera by Zoom for an hour. Trump attorney Michael van der Veen responded that if the Democratic house managers wish to call witnesses, that he will need "over 100 depositions."

Five Republicans voted with Democrats — Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who changed his vote to yes after initially voting no.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

NPR News' Brian Naylor is a correspondent on the Washington Desk. In this role, he covers politics and federal agencies.