McConnell wants to push Trump’s Senate impeachment trial to mid-February

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has proposed to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial should start in mid-February and laid out the preferred timing during a conference call with Republican colleagues on Thursday, according to multiple sources on the call.

Included in McConnell’s proposal is a deal to begin the Senate proceedings in February so that both sides can properly prepare for Trump’s second impeachment trial, according to multiple people on the call. Schumer could be open to this proposal, giving him more time to confirm President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees.

Sen. Mike Rounds who was on the call, said his understanding was that McConnell, R-Ky., briefed the conference before going to Schumer, D-N.Y.

“I think we know that we want to make sure that if the Democrats are going to do this impeachment, that the President has a right to due process. And in order to do that he has to prepare a case, they’ve got to set up the rules and so forth so I think it’d be very difficult to start before then,” Rounds, R-S.D., said.

Senator Mike Braun, R-Ind., also told NBC News that he thinks the trial could begin mid-February.

“Senate Republicans are strongly united behind the principle that the institution of the Senate, the office of the presidency, and former President Trump himself all deserve a full and fair process that respects his rights and the serious factual, legal, and constitutional questions at stake,” McConnell said in a statement on Thursday. “Given the unprecedented speed of the House’s process, our proposed timeline for the initial phases includes a modest and reasonable amount of additional time for both sides to assemble their arguments before the Senate would begin to hear them.”

“At this time of strong political passions, Senate Republicans believe it is absolutely imperative that we do not allow a half-baked process to short-circuit the due process that former President Trump deserves or damage the Senate or the presidency,” the statement said.

Both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Schumer punted on the trial timing question when asked by reporters earlier on Thursday. Pelosi has yet to indicate when she would send the article of impeachment to the Senate, but says “soon.”

“We received Leader McConnell’s proposal that only deals with pre-trial motions late this afternoon. We will review it and discuss it with him,” said Schumer’s spokesman Justin Goodman.

When asked if the president would support moving the impeachment trial to February, White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield reiterated what Biden has previously said, that he will leave it to Senate leadership to determine the mechanics and timing of the trial.

Bedingfield added that Biden wants the Senate to conduct the impeachment trial in a way that allows them to move forward with the Covid-19 relief legislation as quickly as possible.