Democrats face roadblock in the Senate
What happened
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his GOP colleagues warned this week that articles of impeachment against President Trump would be dead on arrival in the Senate. As pressure for impeachment built in the House, McConnell accused Democrats of a “rush to judgment,” saying they’re on an “impeachment parade in search of a rationale,” having already decided Trump was guilty before even investigating the new Ukraine scandal. Removing a president requires support from 67 senators. The 53 Republican members have thus far stood firmly behind Trump, though after the White House released details of Trump’s July phone call with Ukraine’s new president, several Senate Republicans were reportedly stunned, with one calling the release of the transcript a “huge mistake.”
While the House issues articles of impeachment, the Senate is responsible for conducting a trial. Though Chief Justice John Roberts would preside, McConnell would set the rules. He could impose strict limits on Democrats’ ability to present evidence, and it’s even possible McConnell would refuse to hold a trial at all. The Senate did vote 100-0 for a resolution calling on the White House to provide Congress with the whistleblower complaint, and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said the allegations against Trump are “troubling in the extreme.” Still, Democrats remained skeptical that the Senate would ever get as far as removing Trump. “Last time I checked,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), “this body is controlled by Republicans.”
What the columnists said
If Trump acts like he’s untouchable, “it is only because McConnell lets him,” said Ezra Klein in Vox.com. “The Founders designed our form of government with demagogues in mind,” giving Congress power to remove a president. But McConnell has no interest in that power. The Constitution has no answer for someone like McConnell, who protects his party with unmatched “shamelessness.” Speaker Pelosi said, “No one is above the law,” but so long as McConnell controls the Senate, “Trump arguably is.”
Democrats can only hope for a “show trial,” said Erielle Davidson in TheFederalist.com. There’s no way 20 Republican senators would turn against Trump, yet the Democrats “have driven their base into such hysterics” that anything short of impeachment looks like capitulation. If impeachment ever happens, said Henry Olsen in WashingtonPost.com, conservative voters will also “be whipped into a frenzy,” and McConnell will seize the chance to “effectively put the former vice president on trial” too.
“The idea that there will be no price to pay for Republican stonewalling is remarkable,” said Andrew Egger in TheBulwark .com. Vulnerable GOP senators up for re-election in 2020—such as Cory Gardner of Colorado or Susan Collins of Maine—must dread the prospect of an impeachment vote. Making them take a stance on Trump’s “flagrant impropriety,” said Sophia Tesfaye in Salon.com, likely won’t lead to Trump’s ouster. It could, however, be Democrats’ best chance at “flipping the Senate.”