The Senate won’t even start Donald Trump’s impeachment trial until Joe Biden is president, unless all 100 senators agree to a hearing, outgoing majority leader Mitch McConnell said in a memo.
Nancy Pelosi gave Trump an ultimatum to resign or face a swift impeachment by the House of Representatives for inciting a crowd that invaded the Capitol on Wednesday to prevent Joe Biden from being certified as president-elect.
But even if the House succeeds in forcing impeachment articles into the remaining 10 days of Trump’s term, the Senate is in a pro-forma session in which it does not conduct business.
According to McConnell’s memo, first reported by The Washington Post, the proforma session will only be interrupted to conduct business if all 100 senators agree. Unless this happens, Senate proceedings will not start until an hour after Biden becomes president on January 20.
The new Senate will have 50 Republicans. Only one, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, has signaled that she wants Trump to step down. While others are likely to join it, a unanimous vote by the Republican Party that would effectively lead to Trump’s impeachment trial is virtually unthinkable.
“If the House agrees to impeachment articles against President Trump before January 19, the Senate may receive a message announcing that the President’s House impeachment while the Senate is in recess,” says the memo.
“The Senate’s Impeachment Rules require the Chief Justice [John Roberts] preside over the trial, “continues the memo.” This invitation would normally be made on January 19. However, it is not clear whether the president of justice would actually preside over the trial after President Trump ceased to be president on January 20. “
“The Senate trial, therefore, would begin after the end of President Trump’s term – an hour after it ends on January 20, or 25 hours after it ends on January 21.”
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In other words, the Senate would not even begin its impeachment process until Biden was officially named president, making it impossible for Trump to step down this way.
However, in a tweet on Friday afternoon, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said the impeachment process must still continue.
“Some people ask: why would you impeach and condemn a president who has only a few days in office? The answer: Previous. It should be clear that no president, now or in the future, can lead an insurrection against the US government, “wrote Sanders.
On Friday, the White House issued a statement that said, “A politically motivated impeachment against a president with 12 days remaining in his term will only serve to further divide our great country.”
Lawmakers accused Trump of inciting the riot by encouraging his supporters at a Stop the Steal rally to march to the Capitol building while Congress was certifying votes at the Electoral College and declaring President-elect Joe Biden the winner of the November election. Five people died in the riot and protesters took electronic equipment, causing a possible breach of national security.
Newsweek contacted McConnell’s office for comment.