Senate sworn in as Trump impeachment jury as dozens remain undecided

All 100 US senators have been sworn in as jurors for the upcoming impeachment trial of Donald Trump, as more than two dozen remain undecided about whether they will vote to convict the former president for inciting a bloody insurrection at the Capitol on 6 January.

By the time President Pro Tempore of the chamber Patrick Leahy, the longtime Democrat from Vermont, swore them in around 2:30pm on Tuesday , 35 senators — all Democrats or Independents who caucus with the them — had publicly committed to convicting Mr Trump, according to New York Times chart on where each lawmaker stands.

Twenty-seven Republicans indicated to the Times they will vote to acquit the former president, citing far-flung conservative legal arguments about the constitutionality of convicting a former president and the need to “heal” national divisions.

Twenty-eight senators — 16 Republicans, 11 Democrats, and Democratic-caucusing Independent Angus King of Maine — did not commit to voting one way or the other. Ten did not provide responses to the Times.

At least 17 Republicans must vote with all 50 Democrats (including Mr King and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont) to convict Mr Trump and bar him from ever holding federally elected office again in the future.