The House will transmit the article of impeachment charging Trump with incitement to the Senate on Monday
- The House will transmit an article of impeachment for Trump to the Senate on Monday.
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the news on Friday.
- The Senate must begin its impeachment trial by 1 p.m. the day after the article is transmitted.
The House will transmit the article of impeachment charging former President Donald Trump with incitement of an insurrection at the US Capitol to the Senate on Monday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Friday.
Importantly, as Axios pointed out, the Senate is constitutionally mandated to begin a trial for an impeached federal official by 1 p.m. on the day after the article is sent to it, meaning Trump's trial is set to begin next week.
The Senate, divided evenly between 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats, will be tasked with juggling confirmation hearings and votes for President Joe Biden's Cabinet nominees and an impeachment trial.
The House voted 232-197 on January 13 to impeach Trump on one charge of inciting an insurrection. It was the second time he was impeached in his presidency.
Mitch McConnell, now the Senate minority leader, had sought to delay the trial until February, CBS News reported.
"I've spoken to Speaker Pelosi, who informed me that the articles will be delivered to the Senate on Monday," Schumer said on the Senate floor.
"Now, I've heard some of my Republican colleagues argue that this trial would be unconstitutional because Donald Trump is no longer in office, an argument that has been roundly repudiated, debunked by hundreds of constitutional scholars left, right, and center."
In the trial, nine House Democrats will serve as impeachment managers to prosecute the case against Trump, and senators will serve as jurors. A conviction requires a two-thirds majority vote: 67 senators if all 100 are present.
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland will be the lead impeachment manager. The others are Reps. Ted Lieu and Eric Swalwell of California, Diana DeGette and Joe Neguse of Colorado, Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Joaquin Castro of Texas, and Stacey Plaskett of the US Virgin Islands.
Butch Bowers, an attorney from South Carolina, is set to defend Trump. Bowers has extensive experience in governmental and election law, having served as counsel for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford when he was threatened with impeachment in 2009.