It’s being reported that Leader McConnell is now backing Senator Josh Hawley’s bill that would change the rules and allow the Senate to simply dismiss the impeachment articles without a trial:
MCCONNELL backs resolution to change Senate rules to dismiss impeachment articles if they don't arrive from the House within 25 days of passage — or Jan. 12 in this case.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 9, 2020
AXOIS – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has signed onto a resolution by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) seeking to change the rules of the Senate to dismiss articles of impeachment if they are not transmitted within 25 days of their approval — in this case, Jan. 12.
The constitutionality of such a move is not clear. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated on Thursday that she is waiting to see what the Senate trial will look like before she names impeachment managers and transmits the articles.
Below is the text of the proposal:
I’m reading that a rule like this would need 67 votes to pass:
Passing this is sorta impractical. You need 67 votes or to go nuclear.
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) January 9, 2020
But Hawley has told reporters that may not be true:
A change to the Senate rules requires a two-thirds majority of 67 votes. Republicans only hold 53 seats in the Senate, but Hawley hinted Monday that Republicans could bypass the requirement through a tactic often referred to as the nuclear option.
“The Constitution gives the Senate the ability to set its own rules and I don’t know that it does need 67 votes. Rules can be changed with 51 votes,” Hawley told reporters.
It could be that McConnell backing Hawley’s bill is a serious effort to open up the opportunity for dismissal to be voted on by Senators. Or he could just be trying to pressure Pelosi to send over the articles and be done with it. Either way I’m on-board with it and I hope Hawley is right, that they can change the rules with 51 votes.