Former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial will begin during the week of Feb. 8, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Friday, after the House …
Former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial will begin during the week of Feb.8, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Friday, after the House of Representatives formally delivers the impeachment charge to the chamber on Monday. Schumer emphasized the need to move quickly on confirmation of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet and other key administration officials. Schumer said House impeachment managers – serving as prosecutors in the Senate trial – and Trump’s defense team would have time to prepare between the time the single article of impeachment accusing Trump of inciting an insurrection is delivered on Monday and the start of the trial. “During that period, the Senate will continue to do other business for the American people, such as Cabinet nominations and the COVID relief bill which would provide relief for millions of Americans who are suffering during this pandemic” Schumer said on the Senate floor. Schumer became the chamber’s leader this week after Democrats won two Georgia U.S. Senate runoff elections earlier in the month. The timeline was a compromise after Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell had asked the Democratic-led House to delay sending the charges until next Thursday, and called on Schumer to postpone the trial until mid-February to give Trump more time to prepare a defense. A McConnell aide said the trial could begin as soon as Feb.
