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And so it comes down to Lisa Murkowski in the end. Will the vote on witnesses end in a 50-50 tie, or will Republicans have a narrow majority to carry the day toward a swift conclusion of Donald Trump’s Senate trial? Earlier this morning, CNN’s Manu Raju reported that Mitt Romney had decided to vote for witnesses and documents to extend the House investigation:

Three moderate Democrat senators — Joe Manchin (WV), Doug Jones (AL), and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) —may ultimately vote to acquit President Donald Trump in the upper chamber’s impeachment trial, according to a new report. At least one of the senators have signaled that they could vote in favor of only one impeachment article — the abuse of power — but oppose obstruction of Congress.

Both in front of the cameras and behind closed doors, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney (UT) has embraced the role of leader of the Senate resistance to the party line on impeachment witnesses — and some of his colleagues are making brutally clear how they feel about it. In a private lunch with fellow Senate Republicans Monday, the frequent critic of President Trump reportedly “made a strong pitch” for calling additional witnesses for the Senate trial, according to Politico’s sources. In addition to trying to convince fellow Republicans to defect behind the scenes, Romney is going public with his plea. “The...

Sen. Mitt Romney said Saturday that it's "very likely" that he'll be in favor of calling witnesses in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, but won't decide until after opening arguments. "I think it's very likely I'll be in favor of witnesses, but I haven't made a decision finally yet and I won't until the testimony is completed," the Utah Republican said, following the first day of the Trump team's opening arguments. Asked if he thought the defense team was effective, Romney replied, "I just don't have any comments on the process or the evidence until the trial is...

Romney loses GOP support in Utah after challenging Trump on impeachment "Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney lost support from Republicans and independents in his home state during the weeks after he called for witnesses in President Trump's Senate impeachment trial, a new poll shows. The Morning Consult survey found support for Romney, 72, going down after he called for former national security adviser John Bolton to testify at Trump’s impeachment trial, which began on Thursday. ... In the prior quarter, 65% of Utah Republicans supported Romney, and while a majority still do presently, that number sank to 57%. ... Democrats...

While speaking to reporters on Monday, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) said that he is keeping an open mind on which witnesses he wants to hear from in the Senate impeachment trial, and wants to hear from former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Romney said, “I support the Clinton impeachment model, which is a vote on witnesses later. But as to which witnesses I’d want to hear from, and so forth, that’s something which I’m open to until after the opening arguments.” He added that Bolton is “someone who I would like to hear from, and presumably, I’d get the chance...

President Trump’s Senate trial may have witnesses after all. Sen. Susan Collins on Friday confirmed she is working with a “fairly small group” of fellow Republican senators to ensure witnesses can be called. “We should be completely open to calling witnesses,” Collins (R-Maine) said Friday, the Bangor Daily News reported. “I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement on how to proceed with the trial that will allow the opportunity for both the House and the president’s counsel if they choose to do so.” Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has also had recent conversations with the Senate’s minority Democratic leadership, one...

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) on Monday became the first Republican senator to state that he would like John Bolton, former White House national security advisor, to testify at the Senate impeachment trial if subpoenaed. “I would like to be able to hear from John Bolton. What the process is to make that happen, I don’t have an answer for you,” Romney told reporters on Capitol Hill when asked whether he would be open to hearing from Bolton.

It is time for conservative Republicans to start looking for a replacement for Mitt Romney. He has proven an embarrassment for the state of Utah and the people who elected him. He has shown himself to be a Republican in name only (RINO), in the model of John McCain. He has not supported the president or his policies which he should do. Instead his narcissism pushes him to always keep in the limelight by whatever means instead of representing the people here. In contrast, Mike Lee keeps on track and does his job. We hardly hear about his work except...

Senator Mitt Romney of Utah broke with his Republican colleagues on Tuesday, telling reporters that, based on testimony from American officials, he does not believe there is evidence of Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election. Romney’s comments come after U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale, the No. 3 State Department official, told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that he was not aware of any Ukraine meddling in the 2016 election. “I saw no evidence from our intelligence community nor from our representatives today from the Department of State that there is any evidence of any...

Sen. Mitt Romney said Tuesday during a hearing on U.S.-Russia policy that he disagreed with President Trump's assertion that it would be good to get along with Russia:

There must’ve been something in the water back in 2012, because everyone on the top of the ballot turned out to be even worse than we originally thought. Barack Obama’s legacy is shot, being destroyed by President Trump and the radical left who now view him (laughably) as a conservative. Joe Biden doesn’t know where he is half the time, the other half has his campaign staff wishing he were somewhere else. Paul Ryan was a feckless Speaker of the House who cut bait and ran once he was free to push all the things he’d sworn for years were...

Mitt Romney joins bipartisan Senate climate change solutions group FILE - Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, speaks at the Sutherland Institute in Salt Lake City on Monday, Aug. 19, 2019. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, speaks at the Sutherland Institute in Salt Lake City on Monday, Aug. 19, 2019. SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Mitt Romney has joined a bipartisan Senate group that aims to find answers to climate change. The Senate Climate Solutions Caucus, led by Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Mike Braun, R-Ind., consists of an equal number or Republicans and Democrats. Romney said it would serve as a starting...

Sen. Mitt Romney says he supports college athletes being able to capitalize on their name, image and likeness. But he doesn’t want to see the most prominent athletes at each school making considerably more money than everyone else. Romney (R-Utah), was on ESPN’s Outside the Lines on Wednesday where he said college athletes deserved to make money because of the revenue that they bring to their schools. But he said athletes getting paid “could lead to some very unusual circumstances that need to be avoided.”

As of Friday afternoon, 50 of the Senate’s 53 Republicans had signed on to co-sponsor it. The three holdouts were exactly whom you’d expect: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney. But their delay in joining the effort didn’t necessarily mean they’d ultimately refuse. Recall that the three retiring GOP members of the caucus, Lamar Alexander, Mike Enzi, and Johnny Isakson, also took longer than the rest to declare their support for the resolution. But in the end, all three did.Not Collins and Murkowski, though. They’re now on record: Count them out. Presumably the same goes for Mitt. Granted,...

Senate Republicans could convict, or threaten to convict, thereby pressuring Trump to resign. They could even work out a deal by which they acquit in exchange for Trump not seeking a second term. Each of these options would leave the Republicans in need of a compromise candidate with very little time left on the clock. Republicans would need someone who understood the requirements of a national campaign, someone with widespread (and largely positive) name recognition, and someone on the record opposing both Trump and Trumpism. Senator Mitt Romney is all of those things. Running Romney would immediately alienate the Trump...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Friday that all but three GOP senators had signed onto his resolution condemning the House impeachment inquiry. GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mitt Romney (Utah) have not yet signed onto the resolution, according to an updated list of co-sponsors shared by Graham the day after he introduced the measure. A spokesperson for Collins didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about whether or not she would back the resolution, which formally opposes the impeachment inquiry and urges House Democrats to hold an official vote on it. A spokeswoman for...

A hilarious on-point political cartoon. Have fun FReepers. :)

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is spearheading the resolution, which is backed by 44 GOP senators including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Graham, during a press conference with reporters, lashed out the House impeachment inquiry calling it a "secret proceeding" and a "rogue action" that "denies due process." "The process in the House today I think is a danger to the future of the presidency," Graham told reporters. He argued that under the current procedure Trump was "pretty much shut out," adding "God help future presidents." The GOP senators not cosponsoring the resolution as of Thursday afternoon,...

Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-Utah) public battles with President Trump are taking a toll on his relationship with fellow GOP senators, with many resenting the implication that they’re afraid of standing up to the president. Romney has replaced retired Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) as the go-to senator for voicing dissension within the Senate GOP ranks when Trump finds himself in hot water. That distinction has made Romney one of the most high-profile freshman Republican senators in recent years, but it has also fueled grumbling among his colleagues. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), one of Trump’s biggest defenders, told...