Trump impeachment trial looms as Congress prepares for Biden administration

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It looks like the uncertainty of the Trump era is not going to evaporate on Wednesday because Congress is not quite done with Trump yet.

This week, the focus is on Biden becoming the 46th President of the United States, protecting Washington on inauguration day and preparing for a peaceful transition of power following the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Discussions between the new Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the offices of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are ongoing over what makes the most sense at the time of the trial. While Biden has made it clear that he wants to divide the day in half to allow his nominees to be confirmed in the morning before trial, that takes everyone’s agreement. And it’s not clear that all 100 senators will agree, even if McConnell and Schumer could come to a consensus. Again, these talks are ongoing. Helpers and MPs don’t expect the impeachment trial to start until next week at the earliest, but no one knows for sure until House Speaker Nancy Pelosi clarifies when she will. will send the items.

Senate can call the shots for Trump impeachment trial

A very important reminder: don’t view the lack of response for the start of a trial as a lack of orchestration behind the scenes. We enter another chapter in American history where the President, Senate and House are all controlled by the same party and unlike Trump – who has often caught his leadership off guard with rogue tweets or spontaneous statements – Pelosi and Schumer are on the same page here. They don’t even need Biden to tell them. They know what is at stake with an impeachment lawsuit.

Once they have taken this path, there is no going back. The Senate sits daily at 12 p.m. ET with members at their desks, six days a week for the duration of the trial. Sending the articles too early without a firm deal between Schumer and McConnell puts Biden’s first 100 days at risk, his ability to get his nominees through, not to mention any goal Biden had to heal the country after the Jan.6 attack. against the Capitol. If it seems like we are stagnating right now, it’s because overcoming the potential challenges and ramifications of this trial is an incredible undertaking.

As CNN reported last week, once Pelosi transmits the articles, it unlocks a whole series of steps that must quickly follow. No one wants to move forward until everyone is on exactly the same page on what it’s going to look like.

What about double tracking

As we have already noted, once the arraignment begins, the Senate must meet every day at 12 noon for the trial. To do anything else you need unanimous consent. That means all senators need to be on the same page as they want to allow Biden to work on his agenda in the morning before the impeachment trial that takes place each afternoon. Given the division at the moment, given the animosity some Republicans have about spending time impeaching a president who won’t even be in office, it’s fair to wonder if a deal like this is. possible. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the new majority whip, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that there was still “resistance,” but he hoped members could find themselves behind the double-tracking of the day.

Things to watch out for this week

There are five confirmation hearings on Tuesday for the Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Director of the CIA, Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Homeland Security. Helpers say the Senate may be able to move as early as Wednesday to confirm some of them in their posts hours after Biden was sworn in. Once again, this requires the agreement of the 100 senators. We should have more schedule on Tuesday when the Senate returns.

When does Schumer become the leader of the majority?

In order for Schumer to become the majority leader, New Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both from Georgia, must be sworn in. The state has until later this week to do so. Assistants close to the process say certification is expected to occur around January 20, but it is normal for senators not to take an oath until the day after certification. This means that it may be a day or so before Warnock and Ossoff are sworn in.

In other words, the timing is fluid. Don’t assume that Schumer will become the majority leader on January 20. We don’t know for sure.

One more thing to watch this week

The leadership worked on how the two parties will run the next Senate. Given the slim Democratic majority (a link to new Vice President Kamala Harris as a tiebreaker), aides stressed there was an expectation that Schumer and McConnell will come up with an inspired power-sharing deal. that of 2001 between Trent Lott and Tom Daschle. Talks are still ongoing, so we can’t say for sure what this deal will look like, but in 2001 the deal allowed for equally divided Senate committees, budgets evenly split across committees, equal access to common spaces. of the Capitol for the two Republicans. and Democrats and members of both parties were able to preside over the Senate. These talks are continuing as are talks on how an impeachment trial can be organized.

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