WATCH: Chief Justice Roberts says he won’t break ties during impeachment trial- First impeachment

Trump's first impeachment - 2020

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. asked U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts during the Senate impeachment trial whether he would be willing to break ties on impeachment votes, citing two tie-breaking votes by the chief justice during the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in 1868 as precedent. Roberts said he did not regard “isolated episodes” that took place 150 years ago as “sufficient to support a general authority to break ties.” “It would be inappropriate for me, an unelected official from a different branch of government, to assert the power to change that result so that the motion would succeed,” Roberts said.

After days of arguments posed by the House managers and Trump’s legal team, followed by questions posed by senators, the lawmakers voted not to allow new witnesses and documents on Friday, Jan. 31. The Senate must now decide whether to acquit the president or convict him of the charges and remove him from office. The House of Representatives impeached Trump in December on two articles -- abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

For more on who’s who in the Trump impeachment inquiry, read

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