Rubio, Scott decline to lay out legal reasons for opposing Trump impeachment

The senators were among 45 Republicans voting in favor of a motion by Sen. Rand Paul to declare impeachment unconstitutional, because Trump is no longer in office.

Florida’s two senators, Republicans Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, have made it clear they oppose impeachment of former President Donald Trump, but both declined this week to lay out legal reasons for their votes that impeachment would violate the Constitution.

Scott and Rubio were among 45 Republicans voting in favor of a motion by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to declare impeachment unconstitutional, because Trump is no longer in office.

A Jan.15 report by the Congressional Research Service said the question “is open to debate,” but “it appears that most scholars who have closely examined the question have concluded that Congress has authority to extend the impeachment process to officials who are no longer in office.”

Asked by the Times for their legal rationale for disagreeing, spokesmen for both senators responded with statements on their general opposition to impeachment.

McKinley Lewis said Scott believes impeachment is “a waste of time … vindictive, backward looking, unserious, and constitutionally sketchy.”

A Rubio spokesman referred to a previous tweet and interview by Rubio.

The tweet said impeachment was a “Waste of time” and “isn’t about accountability … It’s about demands from vengeance from the radical left.”

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/01/29/rubio-scott-decline-to-lay-out-legal-reasons-for-opposing-trump-impeachment/