Bernie Sanders isn’t happy about being stuck in Washington for President Trump’s Senate trial.
“I would rather be in Iowa today. There’s a caucus there in 2 1/2 weeks. I’d rather be in New Hampshire, and Nevada, and so forth. But I swore a constitutional oath as a United States senator to do my job, and I’m here to do my job,” the Vermont senator told reporters on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
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Sanders, 78, added he believed Democrats understood he needed to balance his responsibilities but noted the trial shouldn’t distract them other pressing matters.
“We’ve got to deal with this impeachment trial, but we cannot forget the very serious problems facing the American people,” he said.
Sanders is one of four senators whose final weeks on the 2020 Democratic primary campaign trial in Iowa ahead of the caucuses on Feb. 3 have been derailed by the trial. Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts are all affected by the trial’s timetable.
On Thursday, House Democrats presented their articles of impeachment to senators, with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff leading the team of six other impeachment managers. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in to preside over the proceedings, which will last up to six days a week for an unknown period of time.
Warren, 70, was asked about the scheduling conflict during this week’s Iowa debate. She, along with the other White House hopefuls, have organized for supporters, including family members, to campaign in their place.
“That impeachment trial is going to show once again to the American people, and something we should all be talking about, is the corruption of this administration. That is what lies at heart of it. It is about Donald Trump putting Donald Trump first. Not the American people. Not the interests of the United States of America,” she said.
