Like the rest of the nation, Mississippi's congressional delegation split along party lines in their reactions to President Trump's impeachment, which concluded Wednesday with the U.S. Senate voting against removing the Republican from office.
U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, both Republicans, voted to acquit the president on both articles of impeachment.
The charges alleged Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine in an effort to pressure that nation to investigate political rivals, namely former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son. The aid was later restored after pressure from Congress.
The final tally was 52-48 against removal on article 1, abuse of power, and 53-47 against on article 2, obstruction of Congress. The votes were along party lines with the only crossover being Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah voting for removal on article 1.
Both votes fell far short of the two-thirds majority required to remove the nation's commander in chief.
The House on Dec. 18 had voted 230-197 and 229-198 to impeach Trump, mostly along party lines.
The Constitution gives the House the power to impeach presidents, which is similar to an indictment, and then gives the Senate the sole power to try all impeachments, essentially voting whether to convict and remove from office.
Wicker said in a statement that the case against Trump was a "partisan exercise with a predetermined outcome." He said the House impeachment leaders failed to meet the high standards for removing a president from office.
“The events that brought us to this point are an indication of America’s real and unfortunate political divisions," Wicker said. "But today’s vote is also a testament to the wisdom and endurance of our system of government. The checks and balances afforded to Congress cannot be abused for partisan gain or to deny the will of voters by overturning an election.”
Hyde-Smith said in remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday that she had listened closely to the arguments and that those prosecuting the president failed on a legal and constitutional basis. She called it a "reckless" investigation.
"The Democrats' case, which lacked the basic standards of fairness and due process, was fabricated to fulfill their one, longheld hope to impeach President Trump," she said. "We should all be concerned about the dangerous precedent and consequences of convicting any president on charges originating from strictly partisan reasons."
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the lone Democratic member of Congress from Mississippi, tweeted on Tuesday, "I'm not interested in listening to this impeached President lie. Therefore, I will not be attending the #SOTU2020 tonight."
Thompson also tweeted that same day, "Partisans are protecting the President. Patriots are protecting the constitution."
He also said Trump's acquittal was imminent because "this wasn't a real trial (to) begin with," pointing the Senate's decision not to hear additional testimony from witnesses following testimony in the House.
Thompson had voted for impeachment, but Mississippi's other three U.S. representatives, Republicans Trent Kelly, Michael Guest and Steven Palazzo, were opposed.
Palazzo, whose district includes Columbia, issued a statement Wednesday saying, "The articles of impeachment are the culmination of a three-year political witch hunt against our President. Rammed through the House in an unprecedented and shallow fashion, the allegations have proven to be nothing more than a messaging failure ahead of the presidential election. Our country must move on from this sham and focus on the real issues facing America."
