President-elect Joe Biden Wednesday indicated he's looking past outgoing President Donald Trump's second impeachment by urging the Senate to continue working on the "other urgent business of this nation" while fulfilling its duties on the impeachment.
"Today, in a bipartisan vote, the House voted to impeach and hold President Trump accountable," Biden tweeted hours after the 232-197 vote to impeach Trump for "incitement of insurrection." "Now, the process continues to the Senate — and I hope they'll deal with their Constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of this nation."
An impeachment trial won't happen in the Senate until after Trump leaves office on Jan. 20, as the chamber is not planning to reconvene until the day before, reports Fox News. This could mean the proceedings occur during the vital early days of Biden's administration, during which he'll be dealing with a struggling economy, the continued climb of COVID-19 cases and deaths, and a slower-than-expected vaccine rollout.
At the same time, the incoming president will be seeking to have his slate of Cabinet and other administration nominations confirmed.
Biden's message came after Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., urged him, through a series of posts on Twitter, to instruct Democrats to drop proceedings coming after Trump leaves office if he truly wants to bring back "unity."
Meanwhile, Biden told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week that he will focus on doing his own job and "leave it to her to handle impeachment," according to a senior Biden adviser's comments to The Washington Post.
The president-elect has not said publicly that he supports impeachment, but has denounced people involved in the Jan. 6 melee at the Capitol as "rioters, insurrectionists, and domestic terrorists."
He also this week asked senators if they would be able to "bifurcate" time between an impeachment trial and other national business, perhaps spending days on impeachment and the other half getting his administration nominees confirmed, reports The Washington Post.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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