President Biden recently sent a clear message to Senate Democratic leaders about the upcoming impeachment trial of former President Trump: Keep it short and don’t derail the president’s agenda.
The Hill reported on Saturday, Jan. 30, that Biden, who is currently seeking passage of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus bailout package in Congress, was aware of the potential impact of an impeachment trial early in his term.
For the second impeachment against Trump, 45 Republicans in the Senate voted this week that the trial was unconstitutional and should be scrapped. The result has established that the Senate will not win the two-thirds (or 67) of senators needed to convict Trump.
A White House ally with close ties to the Biden Administration said President Biden has said he wants to distance himself from Trump as his impeachment trial looms. He (Biden) will let senators do their thing,” the ally said …… We always knew this was going to happen, and we always knew this is the (awkward) situation we’re facing right now with the Republicans, but he (Biden) is just going to let it go on for now ……”
Some Democrats had warned that an impeachment trial would pose some risks to the Biden administration and could derail his early presidential agenda. Therefore, they believe that since a Trump conviction is no longer likely, the best thing for Biden would be to start the trial and end it as soon as possible. That way, the Senate could quickly resume more full-Time legislative work and confirm Biden’s cabinet nominees.
Sources say Biden and his advisers have maintained frequent contact with congressional Democratic leaders, and members of Biden’s inner circle have expressed support for impeachment. However, several Democratic bigwigs in both chambers expressed concern about the impeachment trial delaying Biden’s agenda as early as the start of the impeachment process. They predicted that only a handful of Republican senators would eventually vote to convict Trump.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn (R-Okla.) is a key Biden ally. He believes the House should wait 100 days after Biden takes office before submitting impeachment papers to the Senate.
Separately, Democratic U.S. Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia and Chris Murphy of Connecticut have said privately that they believe confirming Biden’s cabinet nominations and moving forward with the Communist Party of China virus (COVID-19) bailout package are the top priorities for Congress right now.
Kaine (Jan. 29) said Friday that he was aware of the problem early on and sensed the possible outcome of impeachment early on. He said, “It’s hard to get 17 Republicans to step up and vote to convict Trump.” But he also said congressional Democrats now have no choice, saying, “The House has done that, has sent the impeachment papers to the Senate, and our hands are actually tied.”
Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia also said on Jan. 10 that holding an impeachment trial against Trump after he leaves office “is a complete lack of any common sense.”
Biden himself has never publicly criticized the impeachment trial, saying only on Jan. 8 that “it’s up to the members of Congress to decide what they want to do.”
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