Mcconnell concedes ‘no choice’ on trial
He says Senate must take up impeachment if House approves
WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell said Monday that the Senate would have “no choice” but to hold a trial on whether to remove President Donald Trump from office if the House voted to put forward articles of impeachment.
The Kentucky Republican told CNBC that the obligation to hold a trial is part of Senate rules, and it would take a twothirds vote of the chamber to change that.
“I would have no choice but to take it up, based on a Senate rule on impeachment,” Mcconnell said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry last week over whether Trump improperly pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rival Joe Biden.
Trump denied exerting any pressure or doing anything improper.
Polling showed some movement in public sentiment. A one-day NPR/PBS Newshour/marist poll conducted Sept. 25 found that about half of Americans – 49% – approve of the House formally starting an impeachment inquiry into Trump.
There remains a stark partisan divide on the issue, with 88% of Democrats approving and 93% of Republicans disapproving of the inquiry. But the findings suggest movement: Earlier polls conducted throughout Trump’s presidency have consistently found a majority saying he should not be impeached.
It would take a simple majority of the House (218 votes) to submit articles of impeachment to the Senate. Impeachment would be akin to an indictment in a court proceeding. A trial would then be held in the Senate, where it would take at least two-thirds (or 67 votes) to convict Trump and remove him from office. The chief justice of the Supreme Court would preside over the trial.
House lawmakers would act as prosecutors and senators as the jury for a trial. How long a trial might take is unclear. The Senate would have to pass a resolution setting up the ground rules of a trial. As majority leader, Mcconnell would have some latitude in shaping those rules, as well as determining the timing of the trial.
“So I would have no choice but to take it up,” Mcconnell said. “How long you’re on it is a whole different matter.”
When the House impeached President Bill Clinton more than two decades ago, the Senate trial began about three weeks after the House acted. After a five-week trial, the Gop-led Senate acquitted Clinton.
Once impeachment was over, Clinton finished the remaining 11 months of his term.
Contributing: Associated Press