McConnell’s office made this clear to aides to Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday, according to Republican officials, which means the impeachment trial won’t begin until the early days of Joe Biden’s presidency.
McConnell sent a note to fellow Republicans Wednesday afternoon regarding impeachment, writing, “While the press was full of speculation, I have not made a final decision on how to vote, and I intend to hear the legal arguments when presented to the Senate.”
But sources say that McConnell is angry at Trump’s incitement to the violent riots that turned into fatal riots in the US Capitol building last week, and he also blamed Trump for the party’s failure to keep two Senate seats in Georgia, losses that will pay him and the Republicans. Minority in the Senate for the next two years.
In a memo a few days earlier to Republican senators, McConnell suggested that the trial would not begin until Biden became president, saying that all 100 senators would need to agree to a change to the Senate schedule. He indicated that the closest Senate could adopt any provisions for impeaching Trump that were approved by the House of Representatives, which will likely be after his term ends.
“The Senate trial will therefore begin after the end of President Trump’s term,” the memo said.
But since then, Schumer McConnell has called for the emergency authority created in 2004 to reconvene the Senate if the two leaders agree to reinstate the Senate.
Democrats are calling for McConnell to act immediately.
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