Republican U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley voted Wednesday afternoon to acquit President Donald Trump on the two articles of impeachment — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

The Republican-led Senate acquitted Trump Wednesday for his dealings with Ukraine, concluding months of bitter partisan clashes over accusations the president tried to cheat in the 2020 election by pressuring the U.S. ally to investigate political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.

Both Ernst and Grassley argued Wednesday the impeachment was a partisan attempt to pass judgment on Trump ahead of the November election.

"Given the constitutional requirements, voting any other way on these articles would remove the ability of the American people to make their own decision at the ballot box in November," Ernst said in remarks to the Senate before the vote. "This process was fraught from the start with political aims and partisan innuendos that simply cannot be overlooked."

"... The Iowa caucuses have already occurred. The 2020 presidential election is well underway," Grassley said. "Yet we’re being asked to remove the incumbent from the ballot, based on articles of impeachment supported by only one party in Congress."

U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, was the only senator to cross party lines by voting to convict for abuse of power.

Grassley promised in December to approach the impeachment trial as an impartial juror but said he understood why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called it a political process.

Though Grassley voted to acquit Trump for abuse of power, he said the president's conduct around the Ukraine call was not wholly appropriate.

"The President himself, however, should not conclude from my vote that I think his conduct was above reproach," Grassley said. "... The President’s request was poorly timed and poorly executed, and he should’ve taken better care to avoid even the mere appearance of impropriety. Had he done so, this impeachment saga might have been avoided altogether."

Katie Akin is a politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at kakin@registermedia.com or at 515-284-8041. Follow her on Twitter at @katie_akin.

Your subscription makes work like this possible. Subscribe today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.