At long last, our nation will be set to move forward, out of the House’s lopsided and secretive impeachment inquiry, and into the Senate’s more structured trial.
Americans have been clamoring for an end to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s whimsical “hold” on the articles of impeachment, which, after being passed by the House, remained there. For weeks.
Pelosi believed that this would somehow buy her leverage over Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who was looking to expedite the President’s acquittal by any means necessary.
Now, after being pressured by both sides of the aisle, Pelosi is set to send the articles over to the higher chamber.
The U.S. House is set to vote Wednesday to send the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate for a landmark trial on whether the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress are grounds for removal.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the next steps after meeting privately with House Democrats at the Capitol, ending her blockade Tuesday a month after they voted to impeach Trump.
It will be only the third presidential impeachment trial in American history, a serious moment coming amid the backdrop of a politically divided nation and an election year.
“The President and the Senators will be held accountable,” Pelosi said in a statement. “The American people deserve the truth, and the Constitution demands a trial.”
The Senate is expected to transform into an impeachment court as early as Thursday. The Constitution calls for the chief justice to preside over senators, who serve as jurors, to swear an oath to deliver “impartial justice.″ The House managers will walk the articles across the Capitol in a dramatic procession Wednesday evening after the midday vote.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday the chief justice would open the trial this week, but that the significant proceedings would launch next Tuesday, after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
This could provide a much needed bit of political relief to the American people, who are growing impatient with our elected officials.
