The United States senate is expected to start the much awaited trial any day now to either remove President Donald Trump from office, or let him continue, following his impeachment last December by the House of Representatives.
The president, who has railed against the impeachment calling it a “witch-hunt’ and a “hoax”, is now calling for its dismissal, embracing a move by some Senate Republicans.
The trial could start as early Wednesday. according to indication. A firmer timeline is expected on Tuesday when Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the Democratic-led House, is likely to tell party colleagues when she intends to transmit the articles of impeachment, a procedural necessity to trigger the trial.
She is also expected to name Democratic lawmakers who will argue the case for Trump’s removal at the trial, called “managers”. Indian Americans Raja Krishnamurthi, who is a member of the committee that conducted the impeachment inquiry, and Pramila Jayapal, a member of the panel that recommended the president’s impeachment, have been on a few lists of those in speculation.
The speaker had indicated to Democrats last Friday she had decided to convey the articles of impeachment, which she had withheld in a bid to extract a commitment from the Senate’s Republican leadership to depose new witnesses, specially Trump’s current and former aides such as the chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton. She did not succeed.
{{/usCountry}}The speaker had indicated to Democrats last Friday she had decided to convey the articles of impeachment, which she had withheld in a bid to extract a commitment from the Senate’s Republican leadership to depose new witnesses, specially Trump’s current and former aides such as the chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton. She did not succeed.
{{/usCountry}}Democrats will also not succeed in removing Trump from office, which needs the support of two-thirds of the 100-member Senate. And they don’t have the votes even if they were able to flip a few moderate Republicans.
Trump was impeached last December for, as per the first article of impeachment, abusing the powers of his office to force Ukraine to investigate his political rival and, second, for obstructing congressional probe into it.
Republicans have considered dismissing the case entirely by changing the rules of the senate. A resolution was moved in the senate last week to that effect and has been supported reportedly by Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader of the chamber.
Trump came out in support of this move in tweet on Sunday. “Many believe that by the Senate giving credence to a trial based on the no evidence, no crime, read the transcripts, “no pressure” Impeachment Hoax, rather than an outright dismissal, it gives the partisan Democrat Witch Hunt credibility that it otherwise does not have,” he wrote, adding “I agree!”
Republicans need two-thirds of the votes to change the rules and dismiss the case, which they don’t have. But they can overcome it by deploying the “nuclear option”, a legislative tool that allows the chamber to override one of its rules, such as the two-thirds majority, with a simple majority of 51.