WASHINGTON (US) – US Senate leaders agreed on Friday to postpone the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump by two weeks. This gives the chamber more time to focus on President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda and Cabinet nominees.
Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the trial is slated to begin on Monday Feb. 8 and the arrangement was hailed by the top Republican in the chamber Mitch McConnell.
The House of Representatives is due to formally deliver to the Senate on Monday the impeachment charge accusing Trump of inciting an insurrection, a move that ordinarily would have triggered the beginning of the trial within a day. The charge stems from Trump’s incendiary speech to supporters before they stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 in a rampage that delayed the formal congressional certification of Biden’s election victory and left five people dead, including a police officer.
Schumer said the new timeline will allow the Senate to move quickly on key Biden appointees and other tasks while giving House lawmakers who will prosecute the case and Trump’s team more time to prepare for 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.
The timeline was a compromise after McConnell had asked the Democratic-led House to delay sending the charge until next Thursday, and called on Schumer to postpone the trial until mid-February to give Trump more time to prepare a defense.
Doug Andres, a spokesman for McConnell, said the senator was pleased Democrats had given Trump’s defense more time, and laid out a timeline that could have the trial begin as soon as Feb. 9.
“This is a win for due process and fairness,” Andres said.
Under the timeline, House impeachment managers will file their pre-trial brief and Trump’s defense team will file an answer to the impeachment charge on Feb. 2, and each side will respond to those filings on Feb. 8.
Trump on Jan. 13 became the first US president to have been impeached twice. The Senate acquitted him last year in the previous trial focused on Trump’s request that Ukraine investigate Biden and his son. Trump’s presidential term ended on Wednesday.
Conviction in the Senate would require a two-thirds vote – meaning 17 of Trump’s fellow Republicans would have to vote against him. A conviction would clear the way for a second vote, requiring a simply majority, to bar Trump from holding office again.
Trump has said he may seek the presidency again in 2024. His fate could depend on McConnell, whose position is likely to influence other Republicans. McConnell said this week that the mob that attacked the Capitol was “fed lies” and “provoked by the president and other powerful people.”
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters earlier in the day that the Senate should be able to move forward with both the trial and Biden’s agenda, beginning with his call for $1.9 trillion of fresh COVID-19 assistance for Americans and the US economy.
“What cannot be delayed through this process is his proposal to get relief to the American people at this time of crisis,” Psaki said.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump, said the agreement between Schumer and McConnell was “fair to all concerned.”
“It allows the president’s defense team adequate time to prepare and for the sake of the country, it moves the process forward,” Graham said.