Trump ‘provoked’ siege at Capitol Hill, McConnell says
GOP leader opens Senate with severe rebuke of outgoing president
WASHINGTON—Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday explicitly blamed President Donald Trump for the deadly riot at the Capitol, saying the mob was “fed lies” and that the president and others “provoked” those intent on overturning Democrat Joe Biden’s election.
Ahead of Trump’s historic second impeachment trial, McConnell’s remarks were his most severe and public rebuke of the outgoing president. The GOP leader is setting a tone as Republicans weigh whether to convict Trump on the impeachment charge that will soon be sent over from the House: “incitement of insurrection.”
“The mob was fed lies,” McConnell said. “They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like.”
The Republican leader vowed a “safe and successful” inauguration of Biden on Wednesday at the Capitol, where final preparations were underway amid heavy security.
Trump’s last full day in office Tuesday was also senators’ first day back since the deadly Capitol siege and since the House voted to impeach him for his role in the riots — an unparalleled time of transition as the Senate prepares for the second impeachment trial in two years and presses ahead with the confirmation of Biden’s cabinet.
Three new Democratic senators-elect are to be sworn into office Wednesday shortly after Biden’s inauguration, giving the Democrats the barest majority, a 50-50 Senate chamber. The new vice-president, Kamala Harris, will swear them in and serve as an eventual tie-breaking vote.
The Democrats, led by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, will take charge of the Senate as it launches a trial to hold the defeated president responsible for the siege, while also quickly confirming Biden’s cabinet and being asked to consider passage of a sweeping new $1.9-trillion (U.S.) COVID-19 relief bill.
Making the case for Trump’s conviction, Schumer said the Senate needs to set a precedent that the “severest offence ever committed by a president would be met by the severest remedy provided by the Constitution — impeachment,” and disbarment from future office.
McConnell and Schumer conferred Tuesday about how to balance the trial with other business and how to organize the evenly divided chamber, a process that could slow all of the Senate’s business and delay the impeachment proceedings.
Five of Biden’s nominees had committee hearings Tuesday as the Senate prepared for swift confirmation of some as soon as the president-elect takes office, as is often done particularly for the White House’s national security team. Many noted the harrowing events at the Capitol on Jan. 6.