The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to acquit Donald Trump, seven weeks after the House of Representatives impeached the U.S. President on two charges: abuse of power, and obstruction of Congress.

Trump has always maintained he did nothing wrong – much less impeachable – in what he's called his "perfect call" with Ukraine's president back in July. Democrats saw it very differently. They said he solicited foreign help against a political foe, putting pressure on Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden by withholding millions in military aid. And then, they argued, he interfered with their investigations.

"This impeachment vote is not about a difference in policy," said Vermont Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. "This is about abuse of power. This is about a president who withheld, in my view, almost $400 million of military aid to Ukraine, a country at war with Russia, in order to extract out of them an investigation into one of his political opponents."

The Senate is controlled by Republicans who are fiercely loyal to the president. That loyalty is particularly on display in these months leading up to November's general election, in which many lawmakers will be asking voters to keep them in Washington. As a result, Trump's acquittal was expected.

Wednesday's vote was largely based on party lines. But there was one notable dissension. Utah Senator and former Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney voted to remove Trump from office.

"I swore an oath before God to apply impartial justice. And, as you know, I'm a very religious person. I take that very seriously," Romney said, just hours before the vote. "And so I looked at the evidence in a very unbiased manner and concluded that what the president had done as was alleged – that he did ask a foreign government to interfere in the election, that he did pressure that government by withholding aid. That's as egregious an assault on the Constitution of our country as I can imagine that a president might make."

But even with Romney's backing, Democrats didn't come close to having enough votes to reach the two-thirds majority in the Senate – 67 Senators – required to remove the president.

"I respect the Senate to vote," said senior Trump adviser and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway before the vote. "But I think we already know the votes are there. There's no way. There's nowhere near 67 votes. There never was. So I think other people are left to have to explain why they voted, why they put the country through this, knowing the outcome ahead of time. What was the point?"

Washington's partisanship was largely on display on Tuesday night, as President Trump delivered his annual State of the Union address. Trump did not address the impeachment, nor Wednesday's trial. Instead, he used it as a sort of launching pad for his re-election bid.

"Our economy is the best it has ever been. Our military is completely rebuilt, with its power being unmatched anywhere in the world - and it is not even close," Trump said. "Our borders are secure. Our families are flourishing. Our values are renewed. Our pride is restored."

Trump did not shake the hand of Nancy Pelosi, who as the U.S. House Speaker oversaw the president's impeachment. At the end of Trump's speech, Pelosi – standing behind the President – ripped up a copy of the speech she'd been provided.