Chance of Trump's Senate impeachment dims | First Thing

Forty-five Republicans attempted to dismiss Trump's impeachment trial, suggesting it is unlikely enough will vote to convict him. Plus, Biden aims to vaccinate 300m Americans by fall

Good morning.

The chance of Donald Trump being convicted in his impeachment trial in the Senate looks less likely as of Tuesday, when 45 Republicans attempted to dismiss the proceedings before they began. With 55 senators still supporting the trial, the Republicans' objections were not enough to derail it, but to get a conviction 67 senators need to vote in favour. In practice, this means a dozen Republicans who just voted to end the trial would need to cross the aisle and vote in favour of impeaching Trump, which seems unlikely.