THE IMPEACHMENT trial of former President Donald Trump will proceed, but Tuesday’s vote suggests he will not be convicted (Shutterstock).

The U.S. Senate voted to go ahead Tuesday with the impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump in what was not a very bipartisan affair. The Senate voted 55-45 in favor, but Republicans provided just five of those votes. The vote was on a motion on whether the trial itself was constitutional.

Tuesday’s vote may be an indication of the final outcome of the trial. To convict, 67 votes are needed, meaning 17 Republicans would need to join all 50 Democrats to do that.

The Republicans who voted to go ahead with the trial are Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah), Ben Sasse (Nebraska) and Pat Toomey (Pennsylvania).

Trump is the first president ever to be impeached twice, and the only one to ever be impeached after leaving office. The prospect of taking that action after an office-holder has left their post is unusual, but not without precedent.  A secretary of war was similarly impeached in that fashion in 1876.

News: A bigger push for vaccines

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the federal government would buy another 200 million doses of the vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna. That should lead to a 50 percent increase in deliveries to states in the next three weeks, according to the Associated Press.

Referring to the shortfall of doses in some states, Biden said, “This in unacceptable. Lives are at stake.”

100 MILLION COVID CASES: The number of cases worldwide from coronavirus has passed 100.09 million people. The Johns Hopkins University counts 2.15 million deaths.

NO PRIVATE PRISONS:  President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed an executive order moving the federal government away from the use of privately-run prisons.  Other orders signed by the president included issues of housing discrimination and sovereignty for tribal peoples, also referred to as Native Americans.

REOPEN THE SCHOOLS: Researchers from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention support the reopening of schools with in-person instruction for the fall, provided safety measures such as the use of masks and social distancing are employed.

Sports: No passes to the Hall of Fame

There will be no new members to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021. The Baseball Writers Assn. skipped over several candidates who might have otherwise qualified. Pitcher Curt Schilling fell short despite helping win three World Series crowns, at least in part because his remarks about Muslims, the transgendered and others. Slugger Barry Bonds and pitcher Roger Clemens also failed to be selected, possibly because of suspicions that they used performance-enhancing drugs during their careers.