House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Thursday she hasn’t determined when to send to the Senate the article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump, leaving the matter hanging more than a week after the House passed it.
“You’ll be the first to know,” Pelosi told reporters who asked her about the fate of the article that charges Trump with inciting an insurrection.
The House impeached Trump on Jan. 13 by a vote of 232-197. While Pelosi has appointed a team of impeachment managers, she has not sent the article to the Senate, where lawmakers would be compelled to hold a trial to determine whether to convict Trump and ban him from future office. Legal scholars have questioned whether the move would be legal because the constitution does not address charging and convicting former presidents.
Pelosi said Senate leaders must work out an agreement on the timeline and rules governing a Senate trial.
Pelosi said she would be working with the impeachment managers in the House to determine when the Senate “will be ready” for the trial.
Senate Democrats reclaimed the majority on Wednesday afternoon and have yet to work out an agreement with the GOP on a number of critical issues. The Senate is evenly divided, and Democrats control the majority only with the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Republicans so far are unlikely to agree to allow Democrats to split the daily schedule to allow both an impeachment trial and votes on nominations and other legislative matters. That could force Democrats to choose between advancing the nominations and legislative priorities of the new Biden administration or putting it on hold for a possibly lengthy impeachment trial of a former president.
“It will be soon,” Pelosi, a California Democrat, said. “I don’t think it will be long. But we must do it.”
Pelosi said Trump instigated the attack on the Capitol, which left five dead and dozens injured. Trump spoke at a nearby rally at the time of the attack, telling supporters the presidential election was stolen.
“He rallied the troops,” Pelosi said. “He urged them on to fight like hell. He sent them on their way to the Capitol.”
