Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected the idea of the Republican-led Senate swiftly voting on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to avoid a formal trial.
“I don’t think there’s any question that we have to take up the matter. The rules of impeachment are very clear, we’ll have to have a trial,” McConnell said on Wednesday, The Hill reported. “My own view is that we should give people the opportunity to put the case on.”
McConnell continued, “On the issue of how long it goes on, it’s really kind of up to the Senate. People will have to conclude, are they learning something new? At some point we’ll get to an end.”
Public hearings began on Wednesday as part of the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry against Trump.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said he doubts that a trial could be avoided in the Senate if the House votes to impeach Trump.
“There’s some people talking about trying to stop the bill, dismiss charges basically as soon as they get over here. I think that’s not going to happen — that would require 51 votes,” Cornyn said.
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