Senate has enough votes for Trump impeachment trial: Mitch McConnell

Washington: The US Senate has enough votes to set the rules for President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Republican-controlled Upper Chamber, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said. “We have the votes,” McConnell told reporters on Tuesday after a lunch meeting with colleagues in a show of Republican unity. The impeachment trial is still in limbo as Republicans and Democrats remain locked in an impasse over its rules, reports Xinhua news agency.

Trump was impeached by the Democrat-led House of Representatives on December 18, 2019, for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

But the articles of impeachment haven’t been delivered to the 100-member Senate, where Republicans have a narrow majority.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who initiated an inquiry in September 2019 that led to Trump’s impeachment, has tried to give the Democrats more leverage in negotiations with Republicans for setting the trial rules by holding up the articles of impeachment. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has proposed calling on several witnesses during the Senate trial, while McConnell has so far rejected the demand, reiterating his stance on Tuesday. (IANS)

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