Republican Senator Murkowski will not rule out convicting Trump

Alaska lawmaker says House acted ‘appropriately’ in taking action against outgoing president

Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski says she will not rule out voting to convict Donald Trump after he was impeached for an unprecedented second time.

The Alaska lawmaker, who has already called for Mr Trump to resign, says she believes the House acted “appropriately” in taking action against him.

But she said that she wanted to hear the arguments for and against the outgoing president when the Senate considers the matter.

“I will listen carefully and consider the arguments of both sides, and will then announce how I will vote," said Ms Murkowski in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already announced that the Senate will not consider it before Mr Trump leaves office next week and Joe Biden is sworn in as president.

Mr Trump was impeached for “incitement of insurrection” following the violent riot in which his supporters stormed the Capitol Building to try and prevent certification of Mr Biden’s election victory.

The mayhem saw five people killed, including a US Capitol Police officer and a San Diego woman who was shot by law enforcement inside the building.

The final impeachment vote against Mr Trump was 232 to 197, with 10 Republicans joining all 222 Democrats in supporting the single article of impeachment.

Mr Trump was first impeached in 2019 over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Mr Biden and his family.

Most Democratic Senators have called for Mr Trump’s immediate removal from office, including the two independent senators, Maine’s Angus King and Vermont’s Bernie Sanders.

While the House needed only a simple majority to impeach Mr Trump, the Senate requires two-thirds, or 67 senators, to convict.

Republican Senator Pat Toomey, of Pennsylvania, has called on Mr Trump to resign but has also said it is not “practical” to remove him with just days left of his administration.

Alaska’s other Republican Senator, Ben Sullivan, has also not ruled out convicting Mr Trump, while Mitch McConnell says he has “not made a final decision” on how he would vote.

Nebraska’s Ben Sasse has said it was “obvious” that Mr Trump had been “derelict in his duty to defend the constitution” but has not said if he would vote against him.

Mitt Romney, of Utah, was the only Republican senator to vote to convict Mr Trump during his first impeachment, while Maine’s moderate GOP senator Susan Collins is also viewed as a potential vote against the president.