Senate leader rejects an emergency session

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer’s call for an emergency session of the House of Representatives to begin swiftly action. isolation Against the president Donald TrumpA spokesman said.

This means that Trump’s impeachment trial, which the House of Representatives is expected to approve on Wednesday, will almost certainly not begin before Trump’s term ends in the early afternoon. January 20.

McConnell came under mounting pressure to take a public stand on impeachment after the Capitol was stormed last week by a crowd of Trump supporters. President-elect Joe Biden made a personal request to allow the Senate to vote on his cabinet’s candidates as the trial progressed.

Two people familiar with the matter said the Senate leader told his aides he believed Trump had been involved in impeachment crimes last week when he incited protesters before they gathered on Capitol Hill. However, he did not say he would vote to condemn him.

If McConnell backs Trump’s conviction, it could have an enormous impact among Republicans in the House, which Democrats will lead later this month once three new Democrats sit in the Senate and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris takes office and may vote in a tie. The room is 50% between parties.

So far, none of the Republicans has said they will condemn Trump, although Lisa Murkowski from Alaska told a local newspaper last week that she wanted Trump to step down after his role in the insurgency last week. Pennsylvania Senator Pat Tommy said he believes Trump has committed punishable crimes, but also has not said he will vote to convict him.

Utah Senator Mitt Romney was the only Republican to vote for conviction on one count during Trump’s impeachment trial in January 2020.

In the House of Representatives, at least six Republicans walked out of the ranks and announced that they would vote to impeach Trump.

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