House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Friday she will begin sending the Senate two articles impeaching President Trump after stalling for weeks in an effort to force Republicans to call witnesses.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, will soon call up a vote on a resolution authorizing her to appoint Democratic lawmakers to serve as “impeachment managers” in the Senate trial, she told fellow Democrats Friday.
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“I have asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to be prepared to bring to the Floor next week a resolution to appoint managers and transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate,” she wrote. “I will be consulting with you at our Tuesday House Democratic Caucus meeting on how we proceed further.”
Those lawmakers will hand-deliver the articles to the Senate, and a trial that could last several weeks is expected to begin almost immediately.
House Democrats passed two articles impeaching Trump on Dec. 19. The articles charge the president with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to his decision to block $391 million in security aid to Ukraine temporarily while trying to get government officials to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and Democratic Party officials.
Pelosi, working in concert with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, held on to the articles to try to force Senate Republicans to agree to a pretrial witness list featuring former national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who Democrats believe can provide testimony that would bolster their case.
But McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, announced this week he has the votes within his own party to quash a resolution requiring a pretrial witness list.
Democrats pledge to hold repeated votes on calling up witnesses once the trial starts.
Schumer, a New York Democrat, said he believes there is “a decent chance” he can win over four Republicans needed to win a majority vote to call each of the witnesses, as well as several sets of documents Democrats are seeking.
“Those votes at the beginning of the trial will not be the last votes on witnesses and documents,” Schumer said. “Make no mistake: we will continue to revisit the issue. Because it’s so important to our constitutional prerogative to hold a fair impeachment trial.”
McConnell said he’ll call a vote on a resolution setting rules for the trial that will largely mirror those adopted unanimously for the 1999 impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton.
The rules will give impeachment managers and White House defense lawyers the chance to present their cases and will allow senators to submit written questions. After that, the Senate will vote on whether to call witnesses, McConnell said.
Pelosi’s announcement came after some House and Senate Democrats began publicly calling on her to send the Senate the articles.
