Republican rebels who voted to convict feel Trumpists' fury

Immediate backlash from powerful rightwingers reveal the strength of Trump's grip on the Republican party

The seven Republican senators who broke rank by voting to convict former president Donald Trump at his impeachment trial faced immediate hostility and criticism from fellow conservatives revealing the potentially high cost of opposing Trumpism within the party.

These senators - North Carolina's Richard Burr, Louisiana's Bill Cassidy, Maine's Susan Collins, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, Utah's Mitt Romney, Nebraska's Ben Sasse, and Pennsylvania's Pat Toomey - brought the total number of guilty votes to 57. That was not nearly enough to secure a conviction, but easily enough to ensure instant attack from fellow Republicans and others on the right.