From Roll Call: First day of second Trump impeachment trial will decide constitutionality of trying a former president

Two firsts in this procedure.

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President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial kicks off Tuesday with debate and a precedent-setting vote on whether it is constitutional for the Senate to try a former president.

Democrats will have the votes needed to affirm that the trial is constitutional, but the vote will likely prove that there are not enough Republicans willing to consider the case on its merits to convict Trump.

A conviction requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate, which means 17 Republicans would need to join all 50 Democrats in finding Trump guilty of the House’s charge that he incited insurrection by provoking his supporters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6. But Tuesday’s vote on whether to dismiss the charge on constitutional grounds is expected to show only a handful of Senate Republicans willing to proceed with the trial and consider the evidence.

Although the House impeached Trump on Jan. 13, a week before he left office, he will be the first former president to be tried in the Senate. That makes Tuesday’s vote more significant because it will serve as a precedent that could guide future impeachment proceedings.