After voting to block witnesses, the Senate voted Friday to approve a resolution setting the final day of the president’s impeachment trial — and his likely acquittal — for Wednesday, after both the Iowa Caucuses and President Donald Trump's State of the Union address.
Senators debated on how to move forward during a recess after the witness vote’s conclusion. After nearly 90 minutes, it appeared that Senate leaders Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer had reached a deal that would pause the trial until Monday and provide each senator with 10 minutes to explain his or her decision on the president’s conviction or acquittal. The Senate voted on the organizing resolution and Democrats brought four amendments to the floor — all of which were defeated.
Chief Justice John Roberts answered a question from Schumer on whether he would cast a tie-breaking vote. Roberts said it would be “inappropriate for me” to break a 50-50 tie.
One of the amendments brought to the Senate floor tonight on impeachment rules would have required Roberts to rule on motions for evidence.
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) had previously told reporters the expectation moving forward would not include closed deliberations. "I'm opposed to it and I believe we will not have any closed sessions," he said. The plan voted on did not include such a provision.
The new resolution provided a timetable for the end of the third impeachment trial of a sitting U.S. president. The Senate will recess for the weekend until Monday at 11 a.m. Then House Managers and the defense counsel will each have two hours to make closing arguments. Senators will be allowed to give floor speeches for parts of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The vote would be scheduled for 4 pm Wednesday.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said, upon leaving the GOP meeting, that "the process is important, so having the Democrats buy into this final arrangement, I think is more important than just shoving it down their throats because sooner or later the shoe will be on this foot."
Senators will vote on two articles of impeachment: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to allegations President Trump pressured Ukraine to announce investigations into his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son Hunter by withholding nearly $400 million in security aid.
Democrats had been pushing to hear from new witnesses since the trial began nearly two weeks ago, especially after John Bolton, the former national security advisor, said he would testify and new evidence was reported by the New York Times indicated Bolton's unpublished manuscript contained details in which the president told advisors to withhold aid to Ukraine as early as last spring. Only two Republicans — Senators Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) — voted with the Democrats.
Vice President Kamala Harris received impressive amount of media coverage in January for making history. However, the media attention waned significantly and some are now even saying she has almost disappeared from public view. Reecie Colbert, founder of BlackWomenViews Media, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss more.
If you thought you heard the last of the Mueller report back in 2019, you'd be wrong. While the bombshell report was the biggest story in Washington for years, much of the report remained redacted. Our friends at BuzzFeed News weren't satisfied, so they sued to have certain passages unredacted. They notched another win when a federal appeals court ordered ten passages from the report to be released.
Matt Topic, BuzzFeed's attorney in the case, and Jason Leopold, reporter at BuzzFeed News, join Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The U.S. reported its first confirmed case of the omicron variant in California on Wednesday. Scientists and health officials are racing to understand the variant, with the WHO saying it's still too early to determine whether it's more contagious, more deadly or more resistant to vaccines than other variants. Omicron has pushed members of the WHO to commit to start talks over a "gobal pandemic treaty" for future pandemic preparedness.
Priti Krishtel, co-founder and co-executive director of the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Wednesday was not a good day for those who believe in abortion rights in this country as the Supreme Court heard arguments on a Mississippi abortion law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The majority of the court appears poised to roll back abortion rights, and the questions from the conservative justices seemed to indicate the law for nearly 50 years is likely to change.
Jessica Mason Pieklo, senior vice president and executive editor of Rewire News Group, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss Wednesday's hearing.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, has been busy since completing his prison sentence in November. He's getting into the NFT space, selling his federal prison badge and the original manuscript of his book "Disloyal" as NFTs. Cohen joined Cheddar to discuss his latest venture and why he thinks there is still much to be revealed about his case.
Jonathan Adler, Law Professor at Case Western Reserve University, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss Tuesday's ruling and provide legal context to recent battles over vaccine mandates.
Carlo and Baker wrap up the week talking about the Biden economic boom that no one seems to notice, a verdict in the Jussie Smollett case, the first Starbucks union in America and the pleasures of the "dude nod."
A new bill in Congress shows just how bipartisan cannabis really is. Rep. David Joyce, a Republican from Ohio, teamed up with progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on a cannabis expungement bill. Cheddar cannabis reporter Chloe Aiello spoke with the congressman about the legislation.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus have lined up to support the Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act introduced by Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif. 41st District). The representative joined Cheddar to discuss how instituting a four-day workweek in the United States can be beneficial for both employees with the need of a work-life balance and employers looking both to retain talent amid a labor shortage and improve efficiency in their workforces. "We live in a different time than 90 years ago when we established a 40-hour workweek," he said. "We've had a lot of technological changes, the American worker is exponentially more productive than previous generations, so it's time to reexamine Americans and the way in which they relate to work."
