WATCH LIVE: Day two of President Trump's second impeachment trial. Today, the real fight begins.



The Senate is scheduled to begin day two of the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at noon ET Wednesday.

You can watch the proceedings below live the minute they begin.

Wednesday's proceedings follow what was a less-than-stellar day for the Trump defense team. As both sides spent hours making their case on the question of the constitutionality of the trial.

The Democratic House impeachment managers presented a clear, concise presentation on why the Senate should proceed with the trial.

Former President Trump's team, on the other hand, offered what many saw as a meandering and unprepared case for dropping the trial on constitutional grounds. Even Trump-friendly legal expert Alan Dershowitz went on Newsmax and criticized the defense team, specifically attorney Bruce Castor, saying, "I have no idea what he's doing. I have no idea why he's saying what he's saying." And at least two Trump allies in the Senate — GOP Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.) — were critical of the defense team.

Following the debate, the Senate voted 56-44 that the trial was constitutional and could continue. Democrats picked up a Republican vote — Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy — from the last time the upper chamber voted on the same question. Cassidy cited the defense team's poor performance as his reason for changing his vote.

On Wednesday, the House managers will begin their 16 hours to make their case that former President Trump was responsible for inciting the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Their presentation is expected to take up two days and conclude Thursday.

Trump's team will then have 16 hours to make their defense and will likely begin their presentation on Friday.

After both sides have used their time, the Senate will likely then have a few hours for senators to ask questions.

There has been no final decision on whether witnesses will be called for the trial.

Watch day two of the impeachment trial:

U.S. Senate Impeachment Trial of Former President Trump www.youtube.com

Breaking: Senate votes that impeachment trial against Trump is constitutional and can move ahead



The U.S. Senate voted to continue the impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump after hearing arguments from his defense lawyers that it would be unconstitutional to do so.

The Senate voted 56-44 roughly along partisan lines to continue. All Democrats voted to continue the trial, while six Republicans broke rank and voted with the Democrats.

The six Republicans who voted to continue the trial were:

  • Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
  • Sen. Susan Collins of Maine
  • Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
  • Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah
  • Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska
  • Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) voted that the trial was unconstitutional. A previous report claimed that he was in favor of the impeachment in the House by the Democrats.

Murkowski, a key swing vote, expressed confusion at the arguments presented by Trump attorney Bruce Castor against the constitutionality of the proceeding.

"I was really stunned at the first attorney who presented for former President Trump," said Murkowski. "I couldn't figure out where he was going."

Collins appeared to agree.

"It did not seem to make any arguments at all, which was an unusual approach to take," she said.

Cassidy defended his vote in a statement to the media.

"If anyone disagrees with my vote and would like an explanation I ask them to listen to the arguments presented by the House Managers and former Pres. Trump's lawyers," Cassidy said. "The House managers had much stronger constitutional arguments. The president's team did not."

In response to the criticism from some Republicans, Castor replied, "We had a good day."

In order for Trump to be convicted, two-thirds of the Senate would need to vote against him, which would be 67 senators. Most believe that is highly unlikely given how many Republicans have openly opposed the trial.

Here's more about the Senate vote:

Senate votes Trump impeachment trial is constitutional, will move forwardwww.youtube.com

Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images

WATCH: President Trump's second impeachment trial begins



The Senate will begin its second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump at 1 p.m. ET Tuesday with the first day dedicated to a debate over the constitutionality of the trial.

You can watch the proceedings below live the minute they begin.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump on Jan. 13 with a vote of 232-197 on a single article of impeachment on the charge of "incitement of insurrection." Ten Republicans joined the entire House Democratic caucus to approve the resolution. The vote made Trump the first president to be impeached twice.

Trump's impeachment came as a response to the Jan. 6 deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, which the former president's critics have blamed him for inciting.

The House did not send its impeachment article to the Senate until Jan. 25, five days after Trump left office.

Trump's lawyers, as well as a slew of GOP seniors, have argued that an impeachment trial of a president no longer in office is unconstitutional.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) forced a procedural vote last month objecting to constitutionality of the impeachment trial on the grounds that Trump is no longer a sitting president. His move garnered the support of 45 of the 50 Republican senators, signaling that the Democrats clearly do not have the votes to convict the former president.

As evidence that this trial is illegitimate "from top to bottom," Paul pointed out that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will not be presiding over the trial, as required by the Constitution. Instead, Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), the president pro tempore of the Senate, will oversee the trial.

Day one of the impeachment trial will again consider the constitutionality of the trial, with House impeachment managers and Trump's lawyers evenly splitting up to four hours of debate on the question, The debate will be followed by a simple majority vote on whether to move forward, the New York Times reported.

Beginning Wednesday, both sides will have 16 hours each to make their case to the Senate, with arguments extending through at least Friday — and maybe into early next week. Trump's attorneys have said they plan to use Democrats' own inflammatory words against them during the trial

After arguments have concluded, senators will likely have at least a day to ask questions, if the upper chamber sticks to tradition, the Times said.

Watch day one of the impeachment trial:

U.S. Senate Impeachment Trial of Former President Trump www.youtube.com

Majority of voters say Trump impeachment will further divide Americans



President Joe Biden has been preaching "unity" among Americans of all political parties for months. On Inauguration Day, he called for togetherness, "Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this: bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation. And I ask every American to join me in this cause." But it appears that Democratic members of Congress didn't get the memo about unity, because they are impeaching former President Donald Trump, a measure that most Americans deem divisive.

A new Rasmussen Reports poll found that 57% of likely voters said the impeachment of Trump would further divide Americans. The survey discovered that 19% believe the impeachment trial will unify Americans, and 20% said it wouldn't have any effect on the country's cohesion.

The poll also found that 50% of likely voters said the Senate should not convict the former President Trump of "high crimes and misdemeanors," and 45% said he should be convicted.

On Jan. 13, the House of Representatives voted 232-197 to impeach Trump on the charge of "incitement of insurrection" for his actions surrounding the storming of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6. The impeachment article was delivered to the Senate on Monday.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said the upcoming Senate impeachment trial of Trump is already "dead on arrival." He claimed that 45 Republican senators have determined that the proceedings are unconstitutional.

"We had 45 people, 45 Republican senators say that the whole charade is unconstitutional," Paul told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo earlier this week. "So, what does that mean? It means ... the trial is dead on arrival."

"There will be a show," Paul said. "There will be a parade of partisanship, but the Democrats really will not be able to win. They will be able to play a partisan game that they wish to play. But it's all over."

Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz told Glenn Beck that the impeachment against Trump is "unconstitutional."

"The Constitution says the purpose of impeachment is to remove somebody," Dershowitz said on BlazeTV's "Glenn Beck Program." "He [Trump] is out of office. There's nothing left to do. It doesn't say you can impeach him to disqualify him for the future. It says, if you remove him you can then add disqualification, but you can't just impeach somebody to disqualify them."

No impeachment has ever been brought against a president who is out of office.

Democrats need at least 17 GOP senators to vote with them to reach the two-thirds threshold to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial. If the former president is convicted, it will allow the Senate to permanently disqualify Trump from holding "any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States."

The Senate impeachment trial is set to kick off the week of Feb. 8.