Our live coverage of the impeachment has ended for the day. Read up on the latest news below.
President Trump just slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to hold off on transmitting the two articles of impeachment to the Senate and is now demanding an “immediate trial.”
Trump’s tweet comes after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer failed to reach an agreement today on the structure for the Senate trial, according to two senators and an aide, leaving the path for a bipartisan agreement in limbo as Congress breaks for the holidays.
The pair met privately for 20 minutes, but the initial talks stalled over a dispute over when the articles of impeachment should be transmitted to the Senate from the House.
The two leaders differ on how they see any initial agreement coming together and that gap hasn’t yet narrowed.
Read Trump’s tweet:
The top two Senate leaders failed to reach an agreement on the structure for the Senate trial, according to two senators and an aide, leaving the path for a bipartisan agreement in limbo as Congress breaks for the holidays.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer met privately off the Senate floor for 20 minutes, but the initial talks stalled over a dispute over when the articles of impeachment should be transmitted to the Senate from the House.
The two leaders differ on how they see any initial agreement coming together and that gap hasn’t yet narrowed.
What happens now: The two sides are expected to continue to work toward an agreement over the holidays, the people said. The whole process remains in limbo as the House hasn’t voted to appoint managers and transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate.
McConnell has left open the possibility of voting to move forward with the trial without a bipartisan agreement when the Senate returns in January.
McConnell said earlier today he would have more to say “later” about the next steps for the Senate.
Schumer’s spokesperson made clear the New York Democrat is still pushing for an agreement aligns with his proposal to hear from witnesses and obtain documents.
“Sen. Schumer asked Sen. McConnell to consider Sen. Schumer’s proposal over the holidays because Sen. Schumer and his caucus believe the witnesses and documents are essential to a fair Senate trial,” Justin Goodman, Schumer’s spokesman, said in a statement.
Following a closed meeting between Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Schumer’s spokesperson issued a statement asking the Kentucky Republican to consider a proposal on the upcoming impeachment trial over the holidays.
McConnell would not comment on Schumer’s proposal as he left the Senate floor a few minutes ago, but said he would have more to say on the floor later. His aides don’t know when.
It’s the day after the House voted to impeach President Trump. While the next step in the impeachment process involves a trial in the Senate, the House has yet to send articles over to the Senate — and the two chambers seem to be in a standoff.
Here’s where things stand now:
The House is now taking its last vote of the year on passage of Trump’s revised NAFTA plan, or the US Mexico Canada Agreement.
The House will then adjourn until January, without a vote to formally advance and send the impeachment articles to the Senate.
President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office today that he doesn’t “feel” like he’s being impeached,” adding that it’s a hoax.
Trump criticized the Democratic party saying “they happen to have a small majority and they took that small majority and they forced people,” adding, “they put the arm on everybody.”
Trump also claimed that many Democrats “didn’t want to vote that way.”
The President then discussed his Michigan rally last night saying he had a “great time” adding the “room was packed.”
“It’s a phony deal and they cheapen the word impeachment… that should never again happen to another president,” Trump said.
Asked about his strategy for a Senate trial, President Trump told reporters that the Senate is “very, very capable,” adding that it “looks like” White House counsel Pat Cipollone will be his main lawyer in the trial.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office: “We think that what they did is wrong. We think that what they did was unconstitutional and the Senate is very, very capable. We have great senators — Republican senators.”
When asked if Cipollone would be his main lawyer in the Senate trial, Trump said: “It looks like that yeah. Pat Cipollone. We have a couple of others that we’re gonna put in but Pat’s been fantastic as White House counsel.”
He added: “He’s done a great job.”
The House of Representatives is likely to close up shop today to begin its holiday recess — and it is not expected to vote on a resolution naming impeachment managers before lawmakers head home, according to senior Democratic sources.
That means transmitting the articles to the Senate could wait until the week of Jan. 6 when the House reconvenes after the new year.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that the resolution to name impeachment managers needs to be approved first before the articles could be transmitted. And she’s said that she needs to understand what the Senate trial will look like before naming the House managers who will prosecute the case before the senators.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are now meeting to discuss the process going forward. It remains to be seen whether the trial could start the week of Jan. 6, as initially expected, but it is still possible that it could start then.
It won’t take much time for the House to approve the resolution naming the managers. The next day with House roll call votes is Jan. 7.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is expected to lay out the path ahead for the chamber on the floor after the next vote series.
President Trump became the third president in US history to be impeached after a deeply-divided House passed two articles of impeachment — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Yesterday’s House vote shifts the impeachment proceedings to the Senate, where a trial will decide whether to convict Trump and remove him from office.
CNN’s Lauren Fox explains what happens next and what a Senate trial could look like:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer walked into the same room off the Senate floor and were both out of sight for about 20 minutes.
Some context: Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats are signaling that they will send the articles of impeachment to the Senate only after Schumer and McConnell cut a deal first on the rules of the trial.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii who is running for president, tweeted today explaining her “present” vote for the articles of impeachment against Trump.
She called impeachment “a zero-sum game” and said her vote was a protest against it.
President Trump has just announced that Rep. Jeff Van Drew is becoming a Republican, according to reporters in the Oval Office.
Van Drew, a Democrat from New Jersey, sat with Republicans before the historic impeachment vote yesterday, receiving handshakes and fist bumps from GOP members.
He crossed his arms when House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff presented the Democratic case for impeachment, and he gave House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy’s speech a standing ovation.
He was one of two Democrats to vote against impeachment. The other is Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota.
Now that the House has impeached President Trump, the Senate, according to the Constitution, must hold a trial.
There are formal rules in place — 26 of them, although a simple majority of 51 senators can vote to change any of the rules at any time.
Here are some of the highlights from the 1986 rules:
At lunch today, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was asked by his colleagues when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would submit the two articles of impeachment to the Senate. He said he didn’t know because it was the Speaker’s call.
Schumer said Pelosi wants to understand what the Senate process is before moving ahead with naming managers. He indicated that he would meet with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, which is expected during this afternoon’s vote series.
Three attendees at the lunch confirmed the details of Schumer’s comments to CNN.
Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, said it was reasonable for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to wait until terms of a trial are set before sending articles of impeachment to the Republican-led Senate.
Republican senators continue to express outrage over the House’s decision to impeach President Trump and attack the Democrats over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to delay sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, expressed outrage at the House’s impeachment of President Trump, saying: “There’s so much hypocrisy in this.”
“When you see the people dancing in the streets as they vote for impeachment on the House side… there’s so much hypocrisy in this. Praise McConnell for being honest. And criticize the hypocrisy of the other side who would lower the bar for impeachment for political gain,” Cassidy added.
Sen. Mike Braun, a Republican from Indiana, suggested that Pelosi might be holding the articles because she knows House Democrats have a weak case.
“You probably do something like that when you feel like you’ve got a weak case. To me it’s a tactic, a bit novel, in the sense that I didn’t really see it coming,” Braun said.
When asked about Speaker Pelosi’s decision to delay the impeachment articles, Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, told reporters: “To put it politely, it’s not her job, according to the constitution, to tell the Senate how to try an impeachment.”
On whether he wants to hear from witnesses at the Senate’s impeachment trial, Alexander said there may or may not be any need for witnesses. “I won’t have any idea until after we consider the articles, hear the arguments, ask our questions, and then we’ll see if we need any more evidence,” he said.
As the Senate waits for the House to send over articles of impeachment, senators have approved the first of two legislative packages that would avert a government shutdown.
Together, the two packages make up a nearly $1.4 trillion spending deal to keep the government funded. The vote was 71-23.
The first measure includes annual appropriations bills for Labor, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Energy and Water, Interior, Legislative Branch and other government sectors.
The Senate is expected to vote later today on the second measure that makes up the spending deal, but it’s not yet clear exactly what time that vote will occur.
Once both measures have passed, they will head to the President for his expected signature. Government funding expires at midnight tomorrow.
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from a state President Trump won easily, told CNN that House Speaker Pelosi’s decision to delay sending the articles of impeachment to the Republican-led Senate was a “very intelligent move.”
When asked if he was worried about the timeline of the delay, Manchin said no, adding: “As long as it takes for us to get a fair and impartial trial.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer made limited remarks to reporters as he walked back to the Senate from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. The two had a meeting this morning.
“We are in the same page, and what Speaker Pelosi said at her press conference, exactly characterizes my view,” Schumer told reporters.
He then said, “Feliz Navidad” and entered the Senate chamber.
Some background: Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats are signaling that they will send the articles of impeachment to the Senate after Schumer and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cut a deal first on the rules of the trial.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who has been considering a switch to the Republican party, will meet with the President at the White House today, two White House officials tell CNN.
The New Jersey Democrat has been an outspoken critic of impeachment and voted against both articles on the House floor yesterday evening. Van Drew has not yet made a public announcement about leaving the Democratic party.
