Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, supposed master tactician with an iron grip on his caucus, was reduced to making last-minute handwritten changes in the margins of his carefully crafted impeachment resolution following a caucus lunch Tuesday that preceded the opening of the Senate trial. That resolution musta been a little too shammy for at least some in his caucus. As Minority Leader Chuck Schumer noted, public opinion appears to be making some Senate Republicans squeamish about McConnell trying to rig the trial in Donald Trump’s favor.
“The public is understanding how unfair Senator McConnell’s trial rules are and Republican Senators are beginning to tell him to change them,” Schumer said in a statement Tuesday. “The real test will be if they pressure Senator McConnell to allow witnesses and documents." The public likely understands that at least in part because House Republicans spent the entire House inquiry fabricating the notion that they couldn’t call witnesses and Trump’s lawyers couldn’t defend him and this would all be different in the Senate where Trump could supposedly get a fair trial.
And now those very same lawyers and McConnell are trying to sell all those low-information voters who believed House Republicans on why there shouldn’t be any witnesses or documents or evidence or anything. Nothing! That means the 55% of Americans who thought the House process was fair know that the White House did everything possible to choke off critical evidence from being considered in that inquiry. But on top of that, roughly 50% of Republicans want a trial that includes witnesses and evidence likely because they still think their inclusion would help exonerate Trump. So to Schumer’s point, McConnell is not only trying to defy public opinion, he’s also working against the desires of a good chunk of Republican voters.
The votes on McConnell’s resolution and Schumer’s proposed amendments are expected to take place Tuesday afternoon and into the evening. Schumer’s first proposed amendment would subpoena “all documents, communications, and other records within the possession, custody, or control of the White House” related to Ukraine. In other words, the Senate would subpoena basically everything the White House unilaterally blocked the House from getting. (It was just voted down by Senate Republicans—but more amendments are to come.)
Nonetheless, if Senate Republicans were already feeling some heat before the trial began, they likely don’t feel any better now.