Senators will get four hours of debate Friday before voting on whether to call witnesses and introduce documents — a vote that is expected to fail after Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), announced late last night.
Alexander said that though the House Managers indeed proved the president used Ukraine aid to force an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, he does not believe the conduct rises to the level of an impeachable offense.
Without Alexander's vote, the push for witnesses all but assuredly ended as Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined him Friday in rejecting the call. Even if Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) were to vote yes, the motion will fail unless Chief Justice John Roberts makes a ruling that would set the vote aside, a ruling he is not expected to make.
Once the Senate votes on the witness issue, it's not clear what happens next. Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.) told Cheddar that after the initial vote "it's not necessarily quick. There's a lot of parliamentary wrestling that goes on to bring it to the ultimate vote, which is the verdict.
"Even in Senator Alexander's statement, though he came to the wrong conclusion, he's said it was proven the president did what he was accused of," Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters before the start of what may be the last day of the president's impeachment trial.
Republicans have made a few key arguments against witnesses, primarily that the House should have pushed harder to call witnesses, a court fight over testimony could prolong the trial for months, and that if the House says its case is clear it shouldn't need more evidence.
Democrats have argued Senate Republicans could keep the trial short by having Chief Justice John Roberts sign off on subpoenas because that would likely limit court reviews from lower courts. If Republicans do not vote for witnesses, Schumer says they are aiding the president in "the greatest cover-up since Watergate."
"The truth will eventually come out," Schumer said.
"Despite all the arguments back and forth, the bottom, bottom thing, is: I don't know how you can not want to hear from Bolton … One of the senators called it circumstantial evidence, so why wouldn't you want to hear from the man who was in the room where it happens," Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) told reporters after the conclusion of yesterday's question and answer session at almost 11 pm ET.
She said she has always seen this as "an economic check, but also a decency check, a patriotism check on this president" and called today "game day."
Today's vote on allowing witnesses will ultimately set a precedent for impeachment trials moving forward, but also for questions about executive privilege and congressional oversight, as both House Managers and defense lawyers have repeatedly warned senators.
"You cannot have a true acquittal if you've not had a fair trial," Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said at a press conference on Friday morning.
"Let fairness ring … Americans know Democrats are for a fair trial and witnesses and documents are needed," Minority Leader Schumer said.
John Paul Mejia, the national spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement, joined Cheddar to talk about what the youth activist group wants to see from President Joe Biden as he attends the COP26 climate summit. Mejia admonished the president for having little to deliver on his own climate agenda domestically while at the conference. "We need the president to follow through with his promises because, frankly, it's a matter of life or death not only for communities here in the United States but also those looking to us around the world," he said.
With COP26 kicking off, roughly 120 world leaders and delegates are in Glasgow, Scotland to hold climate talks this week. As experts continue to warn about the dangers of climate change, ESG investing is more important than ever.
Georges Archibald, Head of Apex Americas at Apex Group joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden expected to unveil details on a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for businesses in coming days.
This comes just days after The White House issued separate vaccine mandates for federal contractors across the country. Mark Kluger, Founding Partner, employment law firm Kluger Healey joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Later today House Republicans will grill Snap, Tiktok and Youtube on how their products affect the mental health of teenagers. It comes after a report revealed that Facebook's photo sharing platform, Instagram, can be harmful to teen's mental health. Rishi Bharwani, Director of Partnerships and Policy, Accountable Tech joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
As the White House and Congressional leaders work towards finalizing the legislative framework of the Build Back Better budget deal, paid family leave, one of the hallmarks of President Joe Biden's Social Safety Net agenda, still stands in flux. Molly Day, Executive Director, Paid Leave for the U.S. joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss why the finalization of this bill is imperative.
Marjorie Mesidor, Esq., Partner, Phillips and Associates, PLLC and Dr. Anthony Santela, professor of health administration and university covid coordinator at the University of New Haven join J.D. Durkin and None Of The Above to talk about the expected fallout from New York City's vaccine mandate.
Leaders around the world have come together to discuss plans to bring action towards the Paris Agreement along with solutions on how to solve the evolving climate change crisis at the COP26 Summit. President and CEO of Center for International Environmental Law Carroll Muffett, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Rachel Cleetus, the policy director and lead economist of the climate and energy program for the Union of Concerned Scientists, joined Cheddar to break down some of the key goals from the COP26 summit and why leaders must focus on the science of climate change instead of getting bogged down by petty politics and the fossil fuel industry. "The main thing they have to do, make sure we're cutting our emissions sharply within this decade because the science shows that we have to cut global emissions in half by 2030 if we're going to meet our goals of averting some of the most catastrophic impacts of climate change," she said.
Carlo and Baker cover the big races to watch on this off-cycle Election Day, the concrete pledges starting to come out of COP26, Jeffrey Epstein keeps causing CEOs to lose their jobs, and Ryan Murphy's TV hit that wasn't.
The Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq begin November by not only ending Monday's session higher but with a record close as well. Melissa Armo, Founder and Owner of The Stock Swoosh, has her eye on major economic storylines and joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what role the news could play on Wall Street.
