The Senate majority leader reiterated his decision to forbid the launch of a Senate trial of charges against President Trump without the assent of the House speaker.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is opposing a group of Republicans who are pressing for a change in Senate rules so that the impeachment trial proceeding can begin without Nancy Pelosi, R-Ca., sending the two impeachment articles from the House to the Senate.
Under a proposal from that group, the Senate could dismiss the accusations if Pelosi declines to act within 25 Congressional working days. The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has voiced a similar idea, though he did not join in that resolution.
But McConnell, according to Fox News today, repeated his assertion that the rules require him to wait for Pelosi.
McConnell said he has enough votes -- at least 51 -- to proceed with the trial without calling witnesses beforehand, though witnesses could be summoned after senators have heard the House case -- assuming Pelosi budges (which is not a safe assumption, according to some senators).
Democrats are demanding that witnesses be called to the Senate to compensate for them not having testified in the House, although the House refused to await court decisions before passing the articles. Republicans counter that the Democrats acted in bad faith by moving the articles before courts could rule on the President's invocation of the executive privilege.
McConnell has said he suspects Pelosi is stalling because she wants to fish up more "talking points" to use against Trump.
Not only Republicans are facing party fissures. Even some Senate Democrats have indicated that they are ready for the articles to come to the chamber, CNN reports. For example, Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, R-Al., who is up for re-election in 2020, suggested that he is ready to begin the trial. "I'm hoping they will come over here soon," Jones told CNN, speaking of the House articles. "I think most people are ready to get moving on this."
The Democratic senator said "what concerns me more" is the GOP refusal to call witnesses before hearing the House case, arguing "that we need to able to fill in gaps" left by the House's refusal to litigate the claim of executive privilege.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is opposing a group of Republicans who are pressing for a change in Senate rules so that the impeachment trial proceeding can begin without Nancy Pelosi, R-Ca., sending the two impeachment articles from the House to the Senate.
Under a proposal from that group, the Senate could dismiss the accusations if Pelosi declines to act within 25 Congressional working days. The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has voiced a similar idea, though he did not join in that resolution.
But McConnell, according to Fox News today, repeated his assertion that the rules require him to wait for Pelosi.
McConnell said he has enough votes -- at least 51 -- to proceed with the trial without calling witnesses beforehand, though witnesses could be summoned after senators have heard the House case -- assuming Pelosi budges (which is not a safe assumption, according to some senators).
Democrats are demanding that witnesses be called to the Senate to compensate for them not having testified in the House, although the House refused to await court decisions before passing the articles. Republicans counter that the Democrats acted in bad faith by moving the articles before courts could rule on the President's invocation of the executive privilege.
McConnell has said he suspects Pelosi is stalling because she wants to fish up more "talking points" to use against Trump.
Not only Republicans are facing party fissures. Even some Senate Democrats have indicated that they are ready for the articles to come to the chamber, CNN reports. For example, Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, R-Al., who is up for re-election in 2020, suggested that he is ready to begin the trial. "I'm hoping they will come over here soon," Jones told CNN, speaking of the House articles. "I think most people are ready to get moving on this."
The Democratic senator said "what concerns me more" is the GOP refusal to call witnesses before hearing the House case, arguing "that we need to able to fill in gaps" left by the House's refusal to litigate the claim of executive privilege.
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