The Senate returned to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to start the 117th Congress, facing a possible impeachment trial looming for outgoing President Donald Trump, a slew of confirmation hearings and legislative proposals from the new Biden administration.
Tuesday is the Senate’s first return to the U.S. Capitol since the Jan. 6 attack by radical Trump supporters, who attempted to disrupt Congress’ certification of Biden’s electoral victory.
In remarks on the Senate floor, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell gave his most vocal condemnation to date of the violence at the Capitol two weeks ago.
“The last time the Senate convened, we had just reclaimed the Capitol from violent criminals who tried to stop Congress from doing our duty,” he said.
“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people.”
McConnell had previously refused to return earlier to receive Trump’s second impeachment from the House and begin the trial. The House voted last week to impeach Trump for inciting the Capitol attack.
A timeline for the trial remains unclear, but it could begin immediately or in a couple months.
McConnell’s remarks on Tuesday indicate a growing faction of Republicans who are open to possibly convicting Trump for inciting the Capitol attack, which led to hundreds of arrests and five deaths. The supporters had attended a heated rally by Trump near the White House before they marched to the Capitol and began the assault.
If the Senate convicts Trump on the charge, he would almost certainly be barred from ever holding federal office again.
The chamber began without the two Democratic winners of Georgia’s runoff races earlier this month — Raphael Warnock and Joss Ossoff — who both are expected to be sworn in on Wednesday and give Democrats the slightest of edges in the Senate.
Once Ossoff and Warnock take office, there will be a 50-50 split among Democrats and Republicans. As president of the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris will be able to cast tie-breaking votes, when needed.
The Senate on Wednesday may also get a look at Biden’s sweeping immigration proposal, which includes an eight-year pathway to citizenship for migrants without legal status, expansion of refugee admissions and a new enforcement plan that deploys technology to patrol the border in lieu of a wall.
“Having leadership makes a big difference,” Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said. “You cannot achieve immigration reform without presidential leadership, and from what I see, the seriousness of their purpose to start off with gives me a real good feeling that the president-elect is actually going to use capital to try to make this happen.”
The Senate could also take up Biden’s $1.9 trillion proposal for coronavirus economic stimulus package on Wednesday, which asks for a third round of direct payments of $1,400 to most Americans.
Biden has stressed that he wants the economic package to be a top priority for the new Congress.
Several Senate committees also convened Tuesday to begin confirmation hearings for several of Biden’s Cabinet nominees — Janet Yellen at Treasury, Avril Haines to be director of national intelligence, Alejandro Mayorkas at the Department of Homeland Security, Antony Blinken as secretary of state and Lloyd Austin as defense secretary.
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No Mitch, Trump did not provoke the mob to incite violence. You’re more at fault than he will ever be. You didn’t stand by him when he asked for investigations into election fraud which clearly occurred. You’re just trying ti ingratiate yourself with the likes of Schumer. Don’t you realize that Schumer could give a rat’s Arse about you. He will use you to his advantage and when he is done with you, throw you on the garbage heap. You and other RINOs will be the reason this country has lost its way. 74 million people came out and said no to socialism and being a puppet of the Chinese Communists and elite globalists. You’re just looking to serve your own self-interest. Shame on you. Your actions have contributed to the loss of my freedoms.
Will be?? Slight correction, THEY ARE THE reason this country’s lost.
“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people.”
If you ever doubted that the Republican Establishment worked with the Dems to remove Trump here is your irrefutable evidence. So when you question whether or not the GOP needs to be punished you need look no further.
As for me, I say Scorched Earth and rebuild from the ground up. This party is now dead to me.
The TEA Party is still alive and have been waiting for people to realize that RINO’s and the whole stinking media did all they could to destroy it.
Strange, i’ve not heard a PEEP out of them since late 2015 time… Where they been at?
Too bad Mitch has decided the swamp is more important than the people who voted Republican , who peacefully ( But Not quietly ) accepted that this election was stolen by the demonrats . No , Mitch is trying now to assume the bent over position he held during the Clinton , Ozero Years accepting the scraps the demo*rats gave him. What a phony he is blaming Trump for the violence instigated by the freaks supported by democrats like antifa and burn loot murder. Hey Mitch , Trump supporters did not riot , destroy public and private property , attack seniors and attack and even murder cops. It was demorat supported anti-American freaks , NOT MAGA hat wearers.
Trump never even hinted for the protesters to attack the capital building or any such thing Mitch, you and your fellow republicans are the ones responsible for all the loss and hurt and mob killings that took place this past summer for letting the Democratic Party get away with all the lawlessness they committed. I will never support the Republican Party again.
You’re not the only one!
He has always been a swamp creature and wants to go back to that and corruption as usual.
Someone tell Mitch that Trump didn’t plan the attack. There was chatter on the Internet about what they were going to do that the FBI ignored. Stuff was placed at the Capitol ahead of time. Some of the marchers were at the Capitol before Trump spoke to them. He told them to go peacefully. Blame the FBI if anyone. There is no proof that the election was not stolen or gamed to give Biden the advantage.
McConnell would rather play runner-up in The Swamp, than help a President drain it.
Swamp creature confirmed.
Right now, i wonder, ARE THERE ANY in the GOP, who are NOT utter and total swamp dwelling cretins?!
Screw you turtle.
Who are you going to believe? Mitch McConnell or your own eyes?
I saw the surveillance video of poll workers pulling boxes of ballots out from under covered tables (after sending observers and others home because of an alleged broken water main [for which there was NO repair order]).
I saw one of the women there, feeding the SAME stack of ballots into the counting machine SEVERAL TIMES!
I heard SEVERAL judges and other election officials CHANGING election law (something the U.S. Constitution vests SOLE AUTHORITY in the States’ Legislatures to do).
I heard judges telling State Officials to IGNORE their States’ Laws regarding PURGING suspected INVALID names from their voter rolls (like the 200,000+ names in Wisconsin)
I don’t know about YOU, Mitch, but the only LIES *I* hear being told, are by YOU (and other RINOs) and the Democrats (including the [so-called] “main stream” media) that there WAS no Election Fraud!
Dear Mitch, Quit taking crack and watching CNN is a bad combination.
McConnell, you have just positioned yourself up at the top of the POS platform with pelosi, schiff, nadler, schumer, jefferies, lee, booker, biden, harris, and the rest of the congressional trash. You have tossed all respect .
Best reason yet to deep six the “tail=tucking”, back stabbing, turncoat, Republican Party and start a true Conservative Pro American Third party!!!!!
There is no evidence the President incited any violence and Mitch is a filthy liar.
President Trump in leaving Washington has now exposed all of the swamp in
all of it’s feted glory and dyspeptic arrogance. Patriot Party on the way and
74 million Trump voters must work hard to preserve what can be saved from
traitors in Washington District of Criminals headed by the felons, Biden & Co.
William
SINCE when have these cretins, needed evidence???
Quite to the contrary, cousin Mitch, it was not Trump who instigated that incursion on January 6. The epiphany will be that it was Capitol Hill leadership who wanted the optics that the incursion could provide. Both Pelosi and McConnell were advised by intelligence agencies that apart from the large throng anticipated at the rally, it would be infiltrated by both left and right wind radicals that could instigate something that would resemble insurrection. It truly was , in the vernacular of my youth, a ” no ****, Sherlock ” moment. It didn’t require an intelligence genius to extrapolate the potentials especially for those cynical, manipulative and Machiavellian minds.
It is clear that not only did Capitol Hill leadership want Trump gone, but gone permanently. He was an insufferable outsider who upset their tidy gig. Hence, there was Pelosi’s the leap to impeachment with McConnell’s tacit approval. The optics for them were perfect, the truth not so.
Another back-stabber who is buying the lie and spreading it without investigating the narrative. I know McConnell won’t see this, nor care if he did, but you sir have lost my support.