UPDATE: New Georgia senators expected to take office on Wednesday
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he is inclined to wait until after Joe Biden is inaugurated before he begins the second impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
By that time, the two Democratic senators from Georgia are likely to have been sworn in. Once the state certifies the results of the Jan. 5 election, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock can take the oath of office in Washington.
That should happen around the same time as Wednesday’s inauguration.
Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer of the Georgia secretary of state’s office, said Friday afternoon that 151 counties havd already certified their runoff election results, leaving 8 to do so by Friday’s deadline. He said the state should be ready for final certification Tuesday.
Just an update...we have 151 of 159 counties having certified their Jan 5 results as of 4pm. #gapol
— Gabriel Sterling (@GabrielSterling) January 15, 2021
Ossoff’s and Warnock’s elections pushed the number of Democrats in the Senate to 50; with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris having a tie-breaking vote, that pushes the party into the majority. Once Warnock and Ossoff are sworn in, New York U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer will become the majority leader.
They will get to work right away.
The Senate’s first order of business is likely to be the impeachment trial where Trump faces a charge of “incitement of insurrection” tied to the deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The House voted Wednesday to impeach Trump.
A two-thirds majority of senators is required to convict him. That means if all 50 Democrats agree, they still need 17 Republicans to join them.
Meanwhile, Biden’s team is also pushing for the Senate to begin confirming his political appointees. Cabinet-level positions require just a majority vote.
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