Impeachment focus is on the Senate and Trump is not worried
By: Camila Arostegui
Tags: 2016 Election

Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi

With Trump impeached by the House of Representatives, now all eyes turn to the Senate, whose members are in charge of prosecuting the president and deciding whether he is guilty or not. Even though the Senate majority is Republican and the final result is predictable, many wonder how the voting days will be during the first months of 2020. However, according to the declarations of the House of Representatives spokeswoman, Nancy Pelosi, this will not be pass to Senate until they show some objectivity in their decisions. Meanwhile, Donald Trump uses the accusation to campaign and strengthen his image in the states that support him.

On Wednesday 18/12, after almost 8 hours of debate and voting in the House of Representatives, what everyone expected ended up happening: President Donald Trump was impeached and he will be facing a political trial for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Thus, the Republican leader became part of the list to which no one wants or expects to belong, being 3rd President of the United States to submit to be face a political trial.

Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, were the two US leaders to be prosecuted. Trump joined today, following a path that he had practically already drawn since his inauguration and campaing, and even more since the beginning of this year 2019. Now everything is in control of the Senate, where the majority is Republican and whose leader already explained that he would only make decisions that go along with the White House plans.

According to the provisions of US law, the House of Representatives is in charge of impeaching and the Senate of trying that accusation. So it is now time for the representatives to deliver the articles of accusation to the Senate, something that Pelosi refused to do immediately. This was explained on Thursday 12/19 when she implied that the passing to the Senate would take longer than normal.

“It is difficult to determine who the managers would be until we see the arena in which we will participate.” “So far we have not seen anything that seems fair to us”, Pelosi explained in reference to the fact that the Senate responds directly to the Trump administration, completely neglecting the values represented by the republic concept and which are also reflected in the National Constitution.

“The most rushed, least thorough and most unfair political trial in history,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, regarding the expected conditions of a Senate process that will be led by the Republican majority leader, Mitch McConell.

Meanwhile, this Thursday, 12/19, just hours after the vote, the president dedicated a few words to the Democrats during his daily morning tweets moment. “Now the Do Nothing party doesn’t want to do anything with the items and not deliver them to the Senate, but it’s a Senate call!”. “They accused me last night without casting a Republican vote with the Do Nothing Dems about their continuation of the biggest Witch Hunt in US history,” said Donald Trump.

But what happens if this objectivity never comes? Which is most likely. The trial will have to move forward, although the delay it may also be seen as a strategy for the Democrats since the election year is approaching and in case the Senate passes to a formal vote, pre candidates like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, among others, will have to put aside their campaign and present themselves in Congress in trial sessions as senators.

Inevitably, the other question that currently surrounds the American political scenario has to do directly with the election results expected for 2020: What are the consequences of the impeachment on the votes to Donald Trump? According to a Wall Street Journal / NBC News survey, American society is deeply divided into 48% and 48% in deciding whether or not to dismiss the president. A clear reflection of what also happens in Congress, each party follows its own line to such an extent that the wellbeing of the country is no longer the priority. While in the last published survey on the 2020 general election, also on Wednesday by Emerson, Joe Biden would beat Trump by only 2 points.

The accusation was the last battle cry from Democrats, however, Trump does not seem too worried about what may happen in the Senate, his focus is on making his voters believe that Democrats are danger and that they main objective is perpetuate their “ Witch hunt”.

Already published in spanish in Urgente 24