House set to vote Wednesday to send impeachment articles to Senate
January 14, 2020
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House will vote Wednesday on a resolution to transmit the articles of impeachment, clearing the last major hurdle before the Senate can begin President Donald Trump's impeachment trial.
Pelosi made the announcement in a private caucus meeting Tuesday. Many Democrats also expected Pelosi to name the team of impeachment managers who will prosecute the trial against Trump but she declined to do so.
"I am not prepared to do that piece of it today," Pelosi told the caucus about naming managers, according to Democrats in the room.
The resolution the House will vote on Wednesday will do three things: transmit the articles of impeachment against Trump; name the team of impeachment managers; and provide funding for the trial. Democrats and Republicans will have five minutes per side to debate the resolution on the floor, according to rules established during the House impeachment debate in December.
If the House officially sends the articles on Wednesday, a Senate trial could begin soon after. But senators are expected to work through a number of housekeeping issues — including swearing in Chief Justice John Roberts and passing a rules package — before the trial really begins.
Pelosi on Tuesday also encouraged House Democrats to push back on Trump's recent call for an outright dismissal of the trial, something several Senate Republicans also said they would be against.
"Dismissal is a cover up," Pelosi told the caucus, according to Democrats present.
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Since Pelosi first announced on Friday plans to release her hold on the articles after several weeks, much of the House Democratic Caucus’ internal chatter has focused on who will be selected as impeachment managers. The coveted job, handpicked by Pelosi, is expected to be bestowed upon roughly a half dozen House Democrats, according to several Democratic sources.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) are expected to lead the prosecution team.
But Pelosi has revealed little about who else she is considering, although several members have been jockeying for weeks to catch her attention. And lawmakers emerging from the closed-door meeting said they believed that even the Democrats who will be the House managers for the trial remain in the dark.
The House impeached Trump on Dec. 18, charging him with both obstruction of Congress and abuse of power for his alleged effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in exchange for much-needed military aid and a White House meeting.
Sarah Ferris, Andrew Desiderio and Kyle Cheney contributed to this report.
Source: https://www.politico.com/
