CHUCK SCHUMER/IMPEACHMENT/MITCH MCCONNELL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Mitch McConnell has already declared there’s no question the Senate will acquit Donald Trump. Chuck Schumer retorted that McConnell’s comment ‘stepped over the line.’ And it will be up to these two party leaders to guide the largely dysfunctional Senate through the political trial of the century. Before the Senate can deliver a verdict on whether to oust Trump from office, the ‘world’s greatest deliberative body’ must first set ground rules on the president’s impeachment trial. At issue is what kind of amendments or witnesses to consider, as well as how long the proceedings will go on and what kind of evidence can be introduced, all of which will shape the trial and its fallout. It’s a process fraught with uncertainty and political peril, particularly with an impeachment trial to come right in the heat of a Democratic presidential primary in which six senators are running to defeat Trump.”
–Burgess Everett and John Bresnahan, “Trump’s impeachment trial hinges on McConnell and Schumer,” Politico, November 7, 2019 5:01 am