Senators who must sit quiet in their seats without any electronic devices and listen to hours of impeachment arguments are finding ways to cope when they find it difficult to focus on the trial.
“Sunflower seeds and listening — sunflower seeds keep you alert and allows me to listen,” Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, told the Washington Examiner during a break after hearing Democratic House managers make their case against President Trump for the third straight day.
Other members, however, have been caught catching a few winks, including Sen. Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho, and possibly Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia.
Republican Sens. Mike Lee from Utah and Rand Paul from Kentucky reportedly brought reading and writing material in with them to pass the time away. While Paul brought a crossword puzzle into the Senate chamber, Lee brought two books, Impeachment in America From 1635 to 1805 and The Federalist Papers, to read.
Other members, however, told the Washington Examiner they had other ways of focusing on the impeachment materials.
“I have been taking some time to make sure I read and I reread the transcripts or things like that. I read some of the response. I’d read it before rereading certain sections of it,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican from West Virginia, said. “So if I find myself sort of drifting a little bit, I’ll start reading some of the more in-depth material — rereading it, actually.”
[Related: Senators resorting to fidget spinners for entertainment during impeachment]
