January 22 Republican Leader McConnell of the U.S. Senate proposed that the Senate give the legal team of former President Trump two weeks to prepare for the upcoming impeachment trial and postpone the trial to mid-February.
McConnell told Republicans on a conference call on the 21st local time that he was not in a hurry to start the trial.
McConnell’s view is that the House is moving quickly on impeachment, but the Senate needs time to prepare for a full trial, according to people familiar with the matter.
“Senate Republicans believe that we must not allow an immature process to shorten the due process Trump deserves or to compromise the Senate or the presidency, which is absolutely necessary,” McConnell said in a statement.
According to reports, Speaker Pelosi of the U.S. House of Representatives said at a press conference on the 21st that the House of Representatives is “ready” to start the trial, but will wait until the Senate is ready before formally submitting the impeachment clause.
According to previous reports, the congressional riots in the United States on January 6 killed five people and injured dozens of people.
House Democrats submitted draft impeachment drafts on the 11th, and then the House passed impeachment clauses on the 13th, accusing Trump of “sedition”, “interfering with the peaceful transition of power” and “severely endangering the security of the United States and its government agencies”.
In the new Senate, Democrats and Republicans each have 50 seats, so Democrats need at least 17 Republicans to defect and vote in favor to convict Trump.