Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) talks to reporters after the Senate voted to confirm Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh at the U.S. Capitol Oct. 6, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Sep 30, 2019
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that if the House impeaches President Donald Trump the Senate will have no choice but to hold a trial.
"I would have no choice but to take it up," McConnell said in an interview with CNBC.
\u201cHere's Mitch McConnell on CNBC saying that if the House passes articles of impeachment, "under the Senate rules we're required to take it up ... I would have no choice but to take it up. How long we're on it is a whole different matter."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1569857458
As Common Dreams has reported, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) decided last week to open an official impeachment inquiry into the president's attempts to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter's employment with Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian oil company. A phone call between the two leaders, and the subsequent cover-up attempt, forced Pelosi to open the inquiry.
If the president is impeached, the next step is a trial in the McConnell-controlled Senate. The Kentucky Republican, whose pushing of the boundaries of the Senate's rules has made him an ur-villain for progressives, added in the CNBC interview that while he would have no choice but to put Trump on trial, the mechanics of the trial--including time--were still undetermined.
"How long you are on it is a different matter," said McConnell.
That imprecise answer spurred HuffPost reporter Igor Bobic to question how much time, exactly, McConnell would give impeachment in the Senate.
"How long do you think McConnell would give it," wondered Bobic. "A week?"
Given the majority leader's status on the left, a number of progressives took that to mean McConnell could be planning some machinations intended to rescue the president from removal from office.
"Would there even be a trial?" mused Faiz Shakir, campaign manager for the 2020 presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that if the House impeaches President Donald Trump the Senate will have no choice but to hold a trial.
"I would have no choice but to take it up," McConnell said in an interview with CNBC.
\u201cHere's Mitch McConnell on CNBC saying that if the House passes articles of impeachment, "under the Senate rules we're required to take it up ... I would have no choice but to take it up. How long we're on it is a whole different matter."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1569857458
As Common Dreams has reported, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) decided last week to open an official impeachment inquiry into the president's attempts to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter's employment with Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian oil company. A phone call between the two leaders, and the subsequent cover-up attempt, forced Pelosi to open the inquiry.
If the president is impeached, the next step is a trial in the McConnell-controlled Senate. The Kentucky Republican, whose pushing of the boundaries of the Senate's rules has made him an ur-villain for progressives, added in the CNBC interview that while he would have no choice but to put Trump on trial, the mechanics of the trial--including time--were still undetermined.
"How long you are on it is a different matter," said McConnell.
That imprecise answer spurred HuffPost reporter Igor Bobic to question how much time, exactly, McConnell would give impeachment in the Senate.
"How long do you think McConnell would give it," wondered Bobic. "A week?"
Given the majority leader's status on the left, a number of progressives took that to mean McConnell could be planning some machinations intended to rescue the president from removal from office.
"Would there even be a trial?" mused Faiz Shakir, campaign manager for the 2020 presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that if the House impeaches President Donald Trump the Senate will have no choice but to hold a trial.
"I would have no choice but to take it up," McConnell said in an interview with CNBC.
\u201cHere's Mitch McConnell on CNBC saying that if the House passes articles of impeachment, "under the Senate rules we're required to take it up ... I would have no choice but to take it up. How long we're on it is a whole different matter."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1569857458
As Common Dreams has reported, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) decided last week to open an official impeachment inquiry into the president's attempts to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter's employment with Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian oil company. A phone call between the two leaders, and the subsequent cover-up attempt, forced Pelosi to open the inquiry.
If the president is impeached, the next step is a trial in the McConnell-controlled Senate. The Kentucky Republican, whose pushing of the boundaries of the Senate's rules has made him an ur-villain for progressives, added in the CNBC interview that while he would have no choice but to put Trump on trial, the mechanics of the trial--including time--were still undetermined.
"How long you are on it is a different matter," said McConnell.
That imprecise answer spurred HuffPost reporter Igor Bobic to question how much time, exactly, McConnell would give impeachment in the Senate.
"How long do you think McConnell would give it," wondered Bobic. "A week?"
Given the majority leader's status on the left, a number of progressives took that to mean McConnell could be planning some machinations intended to rescue the president from removal from office.
"Would there even be a trial?" mused Faiz Shakir, campaign manager for the 2020 presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.