Sen. Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Olin GrahamBrown says Graham screamed at the officer for not doing “enough” to protect Senator Legislators informed of “horrible” and “scary” security threats before taking office Trump’s legacy is discord and division MORE (RS.C.) is asking the president-elect Joe Biden
Joe Biden A growing number of Republican lawmakers say they support impeachment. House approves measure asking Pence to remove Trump Disney, Walmart says they will block donations to lawmakers who opposed Electoral College results to convince Congressional Democrats to abandon plans to proceed with an impeachment trial against President Trump
Donald Trump An increasing number of Republican lawmakers say they support impeachment. YouTube temporarily prevents the upload of new content on the Trump channel. House approves move asking Pence to remove Trump MORE.
Graham, who spoke out against the Democratic impeachment effort, appealed to Biden in a series of tweets after the House voted on a bipartisan basis for Trump’s impeachment, making him the first president to be impeached twice.
“Now is the time for President-elect Biden to seize the occasion and instruct his party to cancel the post-presidential impeachment process,” Graham wrote in the tweets.
Graham added that Biden should urge Congressional leadership to step down because moving ahead with a trial after Trump stepped down would, in the Republican senator’s view, be a “destructive force” for both the presidency and the country.
“Every president is subject to the country’s laws. However, impeachment is political and will further divide the nation, ”he added.
There is no sign that Biden will ask the mayor Nancy Pelosi
Nancy PelosiHouse approves measure asking Pence to remove Trump Trump told Pence that he could be a ‘patriot’ or ‘p —-‘ when overseeing the electoral vote: Pelosi report names 9 impeachment managers MORE (D-Calif.) Or Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer
Chuck SchumerWoman interrupts Schumer’s press conference, calls him ‘racist anti-Semite’ Night energy: EPA rule exempts many polluting industries from future air regulations | Former Michigan Governor to be Accused of Flint Water Crisis, Report Says | Dismissed White House officials after documents casting doubts about climate science that the Senate will be informed about security of tenure after attacking the Capitol. MORE (NY) to back down, even though an impeachment trial may take weeks from the start of his administration or if Democratic leaders agree to try such procedural gambit.
Biden avoided publicly commenting on the impeachment effort, signaling that he would leave that to Congress leaders, as he focuses on legislative priorities and confirmation of his cabinet.
He revealed to reporters this week that he contacted the Senate MP to discuss whether the chamber could split its time between legislation or appointments and an impeachment trial, something the Senate did not do during Trump’s 2020 trial.
“I hope the Senate leadership will find a way to deal with its constitutional responsibilities in impeachment while also working on other urgent business in this nation,” said Biden in a statement on Wednesday.
Although the House voted to impeach Trump on Wednesday, with the support of 10 House Republicans, it is unclear when exactly a Senate trial will begin. The Democratic leadership in the House did not announce its schedule and Pelosi did not answer reporters’ questions about the weather at a news conference shortly after the vote.
But the trial will take place during the Biden administration, after a Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellHouse approves measure asking Pence to remove Trump Trump, relationship with Republican Party deteriorates suddenly Kinzinger says he will vote for Trump’s impeachment MORE (R-Ky.) Refused a request by Schumer to use a 2004 authority granted to the leadership that would have allowed them to bring the Senate back to the session earlier. Without exercising that power, or without the consent of each senator, the Senate will not return to the session until January 19, the day before Biden was installed.
“The House of Representatives voted to impeach the president. The Senate process will now begin at our first regular meeting after receiving the House’s article,” McConnell said in a statement.
According to a memo distributed by McConnell at the end of last week, the earliest the Senate could start considering the impeachment articles is at 1 pm on January 20, the day Biden takes the oath, or January 21, the day after he took office.
McConnell has remained close to Trump for the past four years, but, emphasizing the Republican Party’s anger at the president following last week’s attack, he is not closing the door to vote to condemn him.
“I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to hear the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate,” wrote McConnell in the letter to the caucus.
Although much of the caucus was silent about the impeachment effort in the House, Graham is one of several Republican senators who spoke out against him.
He also called his Republican Party colleagues for several days, asking them to oppose Trump’s conviction as part of the Senate trial, a spokesman confirmed to The Hill on Wednesday.
“This was his own initiative, not a specific request from the White House,” added the spokesman.