The US senate voted by 51-49 against calling witnesses in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump on Friday in a major setback for Democrats. However, a final vote on whether to remove the president from office was deferred. The development means that the impeachment trial is now approaching the end, with Mr Trump expected to be acquitted. Ms Murkowski dashed Democrats’ hopes that she would join senate colleagues Romney and Collins, issuing a statement just as the senate session started, confirming that she would not vote to call witnesses. Senator Marco Rubio said he was not prepared to remove the president from office over his actions.

Source: The Irish Times January 31, 2020 22:52 UTC