Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wears a face mask as he participates in a mock swearing-in for the 117th Congress with Vice President Mike Pence in the Old Senate Chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on January 3, 2021.
Kevin Dietsch | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial will likely drag into President-elect Joe Biden’s term as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will not bring the upper chamber back earlier than Tuesday.
A spokesman for the Kentucky Republican confirmed his office informed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that McConnell would not reconvene the Senate before Tuesday, the day before Biden’s inauguration. Schumer had urged his GOP counterpart to use emergency powers to swiftly hold a trial and vote on whether to convict Trump and remove him from office.
The House will vote Wednesday to impeach Trump for inciting an insurrection at the Capitol last week while Congress counted Biden’s electoral win. While Democrats said they had to impeach Trump to hold him accountable for the violent riot, they worried a Senate trial in the early days of Biden’s administration would hamstring confirmation of Cabinet members and passage of a coronavirus relief package.
Schumer will become the majority leader after the two Democratic senators-elect from Georgia are sworn in, which is expected to happen within the next nine days.
The Washington Post first reported that McConnell would not bring the Senate back early.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
