Although the Senate ultimately voted to acquit former President Trump of incitement during Saturday's final impeachment vote, the seven Republicans who crossed party lines to convict made it the most bipartisan impeachment trial in U.S. history. Those who voted guilty included North Carolina's Richard Burr, Louisiana's Bill Cassidy, Maine's Susan Collins, Utah's Mitt Romney, Nebraska's Ben Sasse and Pennsylvania's Pat Toomey.
But that group of GOP senators had little to lose politically for voting against the vengeful former president. Two — Burr and Toomey — are retiring in 2022. Burr's vote was still, by far, the most surprising of the day, given that he had voted earlier that even proceeding with the vote was unconstitutional. In a statement, the retiring North Carolinian said that the "evidence is compelling that President Trump is guilty of inciting an insurrection against a coequal branch of government and that the charge rises to the level of high Crimes and Misdemeanors."
Burr may have been one of the few instances where the House Democratic managers' strong presentation may have swayed a senator, especially
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