The White House and Senate Republicans disagree on procedures for the Senate impeachment trial, a top White House official said after emerging from an hour-plus meeting with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
“We are having a lot of good conversations with Senate Republicans,” Eric Ueland, Trump’s chief legislative negotiator, told reporters Thursday after he and White House counsel Pat Cipollone met with McConnell on Capitol Hill. “We’ll continue to do that here over the next few days and weeks as we work through all these issues and priorities the president’s outlined when it comes to where we should go on these articles.”
The House is expected to vote on and approve two articles of impeachment next week before departing Washington for Christmas. House Democrats are charging Trump with abusing the power of his office in dealings with Ukraine and obstructing Congress.
Among the key areas of disagreement is whether to call witnesses during the trial and, if so, how many.
The White House and Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill have said calling witnesses is the only way to wage the vigorous defense the president is demanding. But McConnell and a growing number of Republicans oppose witness testimony, worried it would introduce unpredictability into a trial while also drawing out impeachment proceedings unnecessarily. There also is the challenge of whether Republicans can muster the 51 votes required to summon witnesses, as required under impeachment rules.
The president’s team, led by Cipollone, has not closed the door on winning support from Senate Republicans for witnesses.
“This is part of good robust collaborative communications that we’re having with our partners up here in the Senate. We’re going to keep working on that here in the next few days,” Ueland said.
Sen. John Cornyn, a McConnell ally, is floating a compromise that might bridge the divide if the majority leader fails to convince Trump to drop his demand for witnesses. The Texas Republican said that witnesses could be called to give depositions, either before the impeachment trial begins in early January or even as it unfolds.
Including depositions in the trial format and subpoenaing witnesses for interviews would still require the support of at least 51 senators.
“From my perspective, that would mean a pretty efficient presentation,” Cornyn said. “Witnesses would be deposed and excerpts presented rather than call live witnesses, which might rival the three-ring circus in the House of Representatives.”
McConnell in recent days has moved to discourage both Trump and Senate Republicans from calling witnesses.
The majority leader has explained that, in his view, a drawn-out trial is not in the president’s interest, nor that of his conference, especially since there is virtually no chance of 67 votes materializing to convict the president and expel him from office. For some Senate Republicans, such as Martha McSally of Arizona, Cory Gardner of Colorado, and Susan Collins of Maine, among others who could face difficult 2020 reelection bids, the impeachment issue carries enormous political risks, something McConnell is aware of.
Republicans who agree with McConnell are hopeful that Trump will embrace this strategy.
“We understand that the president has to mount his own defense, and we respect that,” said Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota.
