The Daily Fuckup

Senate Democrats on January 22, 2021, said they wanted the House article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump read in the chamber at 7 p.m. Monday, January 25, with senators sworn in the next day and opening arguments beginning the week of February 8. The schedule came from Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in floor remarks and was presented as the next step in a process that was still being negotiated. citeturn0search0turn0search1

Republican Leader Mitch McConnell had already put forward a different timetable. In a January 21 statement, he called for a later start, with the article read and senators sworn in on Thursday, January 28, and a deadline of February 4 for Trump’s response. McConnell said Republicans wanted time for a “full and fair process,” arguing that the chamber should not rush into the trial. citeturn0search2turn0search0

That left the Senate in a familiar place: the impeachment trial was headed there, but the parties were fighting over the tempo and the rules. Schumer’s plan would have pushed the case into early February and given both sides time to file briefs before opening arguments. McConnell’s version would have slowed the front end of the trial further and delayed the point at which the chamber moved from scheduling to substance. citeturn0search0turn0search1turn0search2

The dispute was narrow in one sense and broad in another. It did not change the fact that the House had approved the article and sent the case to the Senate. But it did show how much leverage process still had: the first real fight was over when the trial would begin, how quickly the managers and defense would have to prepare, and how much of the Senate’s calendar impeachment would consume. citeturn0search0turn0search2