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File photo shows US President Donald Trump walking into the Oval Office after returning from Mar-A-Lago to the White House in Washington, the United States, on Dec. 31, 2020. REUTERS / Leah Millis
WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump’s impeachment will begin during the week of Feb. 8, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday after the House of Representatives formally hands over the impeachment charge to the House. Monday.
Schumer emphasized the need to move quickly on the confirmation of the cabinet of President Joe Biden and other key administration officials. Schumer said the House impeachment managers, who are serving as prosecutors in the Senate trial, and Trump’s defense team would have time to prepare between the time the single impeachment article is delivered that accuses Trump of inciting an insurrection on Monday and the start of the trial.
“During that period, the Senate will continue to do other business for the American people, such as cabinet nominations and the COVID relief bill that would provide relief to millions of Americans who are suffering during this pandemic,” Schumer said in the Senate.
Schumer became the House Leader this week after Democrats won two runoff elections to the United States Senate in Georgia earlier this month.
The schedule was a compromise after Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell asked the Democrat-led House to postpone sending the charges until next Thursday, and asked Schumer to postpone the trial until mid-February to give Trump more time to prepare a defense.
A McConnell aide said the trial could begin on February 9, a Tuesday, and that McConnell was pleased that Democrats had given more time to defend Trump.
“This is a victory for due process and justice,” said Doug Andres, a McConnell spokesman.
Trump’s impeachment stems from his inflammatory speech to his supporters before they stormed the Capitol on January 6.
“This impeachment began with an unprecedented and minimal process in the House,” McConnell said Friday. “The aftermath cannot be an insufficient Senate process that denies former President Trump his due process or harms the Senate or the presidency itself.”
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that the Senate should be able to move forward with both the trial and Biden’s agenda, beginning with his request for $ 1.9 trillion in new COVID-19 assistance for the Americans and the American economy.
“What cannot be delayed with this process is your proposal to help the American people at this time of crisis,” Psaki told reporters.
Senate rules had called for impeachment to begin at 1 p.m. the day after the articles of impeachment were delivered to the upper legislative chamber of Congress, except on Sundays.
But Senator Richard Durbin, the second Senate Democrat, told MSNBC that lawmakers “would sit down and plan this as best we could, use every available minute.”
The moves come as Schumer and McConnell are battling to assert control in a 50-50 split chamber in which Democrats hold a majority thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaker vote.
“I can’t imagine that both McConnell and Schumer wouldn’t want to have a little more structure here, and in particular Schumer, allow a little more time to move forward with Biden’s early decisions before they get caught up in the trial,” Republican said. . Senator Roy Blunt told reporters.
FILIBUSTER FIGHT
McConnell has insisted that Democrats provide a guarantee that they will not end legislative obstructionism, which gives the Republican minority the power to block legislation pushed by the new Biden administration.
Schumer rejected McConnell’s lawsuit on Friday, calling it an “unacceptable proposal.”
McConnell refused to budge, saying that maintaining the 60-vote filibuster threshold to promote most of the legislation was a lynchpin for the power-sharing agreement crafted in 2001, the last time the Senate was split 50-50.
Last week, Trump became the first president in US history to be indicted twice, and when the Senate meets for his trial he will be the first president to be tried after leaving office.
Ten House Republicans joined Democrats on January 13 to impeach him. It would take the support of at least 17 Senate Republicans to convict him; then a separate vote would be needed to ban him from running again.
Such a vote could indicate that senior Republicans were eager to remove Trump as the de facto leader of their party. He has said he could try to run again in 2024.
Trump’s fate ultimately could rest with McConnell, whose position is likely to influence other Republican lawmakers. The Kentucky Republican said this week that the mob was “fed with lies” and “provoked by the president and other powerful people.”
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