One day after President Donald Trump's 2020 State of the Union address, Senators took to the floor to announce their impending votes in the impeachment trial against him.
The proceedings were little more than a formality, with an acquittal of Donald Trump all but certain.
That doesn't mean it came without unexpected moments.
One of those moments came when Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) took the floor.
Romney, along with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), was one of the few Republicans to vote in favor of hearing additional witnesses in the trial—an effort that was shot down by the Republican majority.
Collins later announced that she would vote to acquit Trump on both articles of impeachment, insisting that the President had learned his lesson.
Romney teared up at the beginning of his address.
Watch below.
Romney tears up at the beginning of his Senate floor speech https://t.co/1RyQvfx9iQ— TPM Livewire (@TPM Livewire) 1580930144.0
The Senator said:
"The allegations made in the articles of impeachment are very serious. As a Senator-juror, I swore an oath, before God, to exercise 'impartial justice.' I am a profoundly religious person. [pause] I take an oath before God as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the President, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced. I was not wrong."
Romney then announced that he would be the first—and likely sole—Republican Senator to vote to convict Donald Trump on the first article of impeachment: abuse of power.
With that decision, he also became the first Senator in American history to vote to convict his own party's President in an impeachment trial:
"My vote will likely be in the minority in the Senate. But irrespective of these things, with my vote, I will tell my children and their children that I did my duty to the best of my ability, believing that my country expected it of me. I will only be one name among many, no more or less, to future generations of Americans who look at the record of this trial. They will note merely that I was among the senators who determined that what the President did was wrong, grievously wrong."
You can watch Romney's full remarks below.
JUST IN: Mitt Romney becomes first GOP senator to say he'll vote to convict in Trump's impeachment trial. “Corrupt… https://t.co/ipzSFR7Je0— CNN (@CNN) 1580930434.0
Though Romney had expressed disapproval of the President's actions throughout his tenure, few expected him to make the drastic decision to convict, with Romney himself reminding Senators that his votes were congruent to Trump's positions 80 percent of the time.
People gave credit where it was due.
Regardless of your politics, you must admit that this vote by Senator @MittRomney is a profile in courage. Pleased… https://t.co/SMcpN9hvZe— Ted Lieu (@Ted Lieu) 1580932780.0
I want to thank Sen. Romney for being true to his oath and the values & principles that led him to public service i… https://t.co/gTe6AG27Wp— Rep. Val Demings (@Rep. Val Demings) 1580932699.0
Incredible. The radical idea that an elected official must put their oath to uphold the constitution above what’s m… https://t.co/MCF4fvwQwd— Bradley Whitford (@Bradley Whitford) 1580932791.0
The former Republican nominee for president will vote to convict and remove Donald Trump from office—calling his ac… https://t.co/RfZzihtXjF— Julián Castro (@Julián Castro) 1580932407.0
Dear @MittRomney, Tea Pain has given you grief on many occasions, but in this moment, when the stakes were the hi… https://t.co/fJQ9n4FyNw— Tea Pain (@Tea Pain) 1580933154.0
This is what courage looks like. Thank you, @MittRomney. https://t.co/5iydW7IIbX— Renato Mariotti (@Renato Mariotti) 1580933214.0
Trump's allies—including Romney's niece and GOP Chair Ronna McDaniel—were...less than pleased.
This is not the first time I have disagreed with Mitt, and I imagine it will not be the last. The bottom line is… https://t.co/b8l31ma8Oy— Ronna McDaniel (@Ronna McDaniel) 1580931247.0
Mitt Romney is forever bitter that he will never be POTUS. He was too weak to beat the Democrats then so he’s joini… https://t.co/IA9GnnQ2zi— Donald Trump Jr. (@Donald Trump Jr.) 1580931158.0
Mitt Romney is so jealous that @realDonaldTrump was elected President & he wasn’t. Romney wasn’t elected because t… https://t.co/s9PUgyRkqk— Dane Eagle (@Dane Eagle) 1580932907.0
Mitt Romney is forever jealous of our great President Donald Trump. Mitt is still crying because in his first attem… https://t.co/LRhYwA9pyV— Carmine Sabia (@Carmine Sabia) 1580932306.0
Though Romney is far from a Democrat, he's now officially made the Senate vote to convict Donald Trump a bipartisan one.
For more information about Trump's testing of America, check out A Very Stable Geniusavailable here.