J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) announced Wednesday morning that he will vote to convict President Donald Trump on both articles of impeachment. Jones, who was considered a swing vote on impeachment because of his tough reelection race this year, said in a statement, “After many sleepless nights, I have reluctantly concluded that the evidence is sufficient to convict the President for both abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.”
Jones is one of three Senate Democrats up for reelection this year in traditionally red states. Jones narrowly beat Republican Roy Moore in a special election in 2017, after Trump had won Alabama the year before by 28 points. His victory was only made possible by startling revelations about his opponent: Nine women came forward with credible allegations that Moore had sexually assaulted them, in several cases when they were teenagers. Moore is once again running for the seat, as is Jeff Sessions, Trump’s former attorney general who held that Senate seat for nearly 20 years.
Jones, along with Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), faced much pressure from both Democrats and Republicans over how they might vote on both articles of impeachment. Manchin and Sinema have not publicly said how they will vote, although Manchin said on Monday that he thinks Trump should be censured by the Senate.
In his statement, Jones said, “Having done my best to see through the fog of partisanship, I am deeply troubled by the arguments put forth by the President’s lawyers in favor of virtually unchecked power.”
