Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., said on Friday that lawmakers will wait to hold President Donald Trump’s impeachment hearings for several weeks after a brief standoff on Capitol Hill over time.
Earlier on Friday, Schumer said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Intended to deliver the article on Monday – thereby triggering the impeachment process.
In the revised process, the article will still be delivered on Monday, at 7 pm (Brasília time), and the senators will be sworn in on Tuesday. But each side will now have two weeks to prepare, delaying the start of the trial until the week of February 8.
In the meantime, lawmakers will move forward with other items on President Biden’s agenda.
BIDEN SUGGESTS THAT THE LATE IMPEACHMENT TIMELINE MAY BE ‘BETTER’
As previously reported by Fox News, Biden said on Friday that a delayed schedule may be “better” for him to get his administration up and running more quickly.
“The more time we have to prepare and run to face these crises, the better,” said Biden during a press event with reporters.
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McConnell established a pre-trial procedure on Thursday that would have effectively delayed the process by a few weeks – with the intention that the article would be read on January 28 and the trial would begin the week of February 15. The idea gained support among Republicans.
Schumer’s announcement appears to be a happy medium.
Democrats contended that the Senate is capable of multitasking – juggling the critical tasks of confirming Biden’s Cabinet nominees, approving relief measures for COVID-19 and carrying out the impeachment trial simultaneously.