Congress, the judiciary and the executive are supposed to be "co-equal" branches of government. Increasingly however, Congress has ceded power to both the executive and the judiciary. Laws are challenged and overturned in court seemingly with increasing frequency and presidents have taken increasing power to their office including decisions regrading military action which is constitutionally a Congressional prerogative. But there can be no clearer indication of the surrender of Congress to the judicial branch than its decision to ignore its own ruling today.
All those senators who voted to acquit Trump today on the pretext that to do so would be unconstitutional are, in so doing, saying that the decision the Senate's prior ruling in the impeachment process that a president may be impeached even after leaving office is non binding and has no legal force. By default therefore any determination regarding the constitutionality of impeachment of a president after leaving office falls to the judiciary.
It will be interesting to see, as I assume over time we will, which GOP senators who voted to acquit did so because they thought Trump wasn't guilty of causing the insurrection and which thought he was but tried to weasel out of defying Trump by hiding behind an unconstitutionality defense. Those in the first camp must now rely solely on the support of MAGA faithful. Those in the second have to hope that their voters either have short memories or are prepared to overlook their disingenuity. Either way, the Trump debacle of a presidency will be a stain on the country's history not just in future living memory—60 years hence—but in perpetuity.
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