On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) signaled his intention to vote against a motion to dismiss the impeachment case against President Donald Trump.
Alexander's office issued the following statement Tuesday:
“I would vote against a motion to dismiss.”
“I think we should hear the case. We have a constitutional duty to do that. That means to me, number one, hear the arguments. Number two, to ask our questions. Number three, to be guaranteed the right to vote on whether we need additional evidence following hearing the case. Evidence could be witnesses, it could be documents.”
The U.S. House is expected to vote Wednesday to send the articles of impeachment against the President to the Senate.
The White House is also readying its defense of the President, including a push for the Senate to include the option of moving to swiftly dismiss the charges against the President in the rules of the Senate's impeachment resolution. That motion would require 51 votes and would end the trial.
But a motion to dismiss may not be included in the impeachment rules resolution, because that vote could put Republicans up for reelection in a difficult spot and McConnell does not have the 51 votes needed to approve it early in the trial.
Alexander decided in late 2018 that he would not seek re-election.