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WASHINGTON: Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday (January 19) explicitly blamed President Donald Trump for the deadly riot on the United States Capitol, saying the mob was “fueled with lies” and that the president and others “provoked” those who tried to overthrow Democrat Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
Before Trump’s historic second impeachment trial, McConnell’s comments were his most severe and public rebuke of the outgoing president. The Republican leader is setting a tone as Republicans weigh whether to convict Trump on the soon-to-be-sent impeachment charge from the House: “Incitement to Insurrection.”
“The mob was fed lies,” McConnell said. “They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific procedure of the first branch of the federal government that they did not like. “
The Republican leader promised a “safe and successful” inauguration for Biden on Wednesday at the Capitol, where final preparations were underway amid tight security.
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Trump’s last full day in office on Tuesday was also the senators’ first day of return since the deadly siege of the Capitol, and since the House voted to impeach him for his role in the riots, a moment of unprecedented transition as the Senate prepares for the second impeachment trial. in two years and goes ahead with Cabinet confirmation from Biden.
Three new Democratic senators will take office on Wednesday, shortly after Biden’s inauguration, giving Democrats the minimum majority, a 50-50 Senate chamber. The new vice president, Kamala Harris, will swear them in and serve as an eventual tie-breaking vote.
Democrats, led by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, will take over the Senate when they start a trial to hold the defeated president accountable for the siege, while quickly confirming Biden’s cabinet and asking them to consider passing a new one. and overwhelming 1.9 dollars. trillion COVID-19 relief bills.
“The inauguration of a new president and the start of a new administration always brings a wave of activity to our nation’s government,” Schumer said in remarks in the Senate Tuesday morning. “But it has rarely accumulated both for the Senate and during this particular transition.”
In defense of Trump’s conviction, Schumer said the Senate must set a precedent that “the gravest offense ever committed by a president would be met with the most severe remedy provided by the Constitution: impeachment” and disqualification of a future position.
McConnell and Schumer discussed later Tuesday how to balance the trial with other issues and how to organize the divided house fairly, a process that could slow down all Senate business and delay impeachment proceedings.
There were signs of an early stalemate. McConnell told Schumer that maintaining legislative obstructionism is important and should be part of his negotiations, according to a person who was granted anonymity to discuss the private conversations.
But a Schumer spokesman, Justin Goodman, said the Democratic leader “expressed that the fairest, most reasonable and easiest path” was to adopt an agreement similar to the 2001 consensus between the parties, the last time the Senate was divided on equal parts. no “strange changes from either side”.
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Five of Biden’s nominees held committee hearings Tuesday as the Senate prepared for quick confirmation of some as soon as the president-elect takes office, as is often done, particularly for the White House national security team. . Many noted the heartbreaking events on Capitol Hill on January 6.
National Intelligence Director nominee Avril Haines testified of her own “unsettling” sentiment upon arriving at the Capitol complex after “how truly disturbing it was” to see the attack on the building unfold. Biden’s nominee for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, vowed to get to the bottom of the “gruesome” siege.
The start of the new session of Congress was also forcing lawmakers to embrace the post-Trump era, a transfer of power that the crowd of Trump supporters tried to avoid after he urged them to storm the Capitol while Congress counted. the Electoral College. I vote confirming Biden’s choice.
Seven Republican senators led by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri attempted to overturn Biden’s election during the Electoral College recount. Cruz was presiding over the Senate Tuesday as McConnell delivered his devastating remarks.
Hawley continued to accept his role in the opposition and said Tuesday that he will block a quick confirmation of Mayorkas, the Homeland Security nominee, to protest against Biden’s immigration plan to provide a path to citizenship for 11 million people. Hawley said Mayorkas “has not adequately explained how he will enforce federal law and protect the southern border.”
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As they begin the year again in the minority, Republican senators face the overwhelming decision to convict Trump of inciting the insurrection, the first impeachment of a president who is no longer in office, but who continues to exert great influence over party voters. .
Some Republicans want to stop the impeachment. Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn was one of the Republicans who questioned the Senate’s legal ability to convict a president who is no longer in office, although legal scholars differ on the issue.
“It’s never happened before and maybe it’s for a good reason,” he said.
The House of Representatives indicted Trump last week on the one count of incitement to insurrection, making him the only president to be indicted twice. A protester died during the riots and a police officer later died of his injuries; Three other people involved died of medical emergencies.
Trump was first indicted in 2019 for his relations with Ukraine and was acquitted in 2020 by the Senate.
The three new Democratic senators, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia, and Alex Padilla of California, will take office Wednesday, according to a person who was granted anonymity to discuss planning.
Warnock and Ossoff defeated the Republican rulers in the second round elections this month. Georgia’s secretary of state certified the election results Tuesday. Padilla was chosen by the governor of California to fill the vacant seat in the Harris Senate.
