Biden hopes Senate can divide its time between his agenda, Trump impeachment

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images))

last updated 11 January 2021

President-elect Joe Biden presented a possible solution for the quandary Congress is facing regarding a potential impeachment trial for President Trump.

The House appears set to vote on, and likely pass, a recently-introduced article of impeachment against Trump this week, but there's concern over whether sending it to the Senate immediately — as opposed to delaying the process for a few months — will distract the upper chamber from vital legislative duties once Biden is in office. Essentially, an impeachment trial could get in the way of Cabinet confirmations and COVID-19 relief negotiations, which Biden maintains is his top priority.

When it comes to impeachment, Biden appears to be trying to keep his head down and let Congress handle the matter. But he did address the timing issue Monday, saying if the resolution reaches the Senate, it's his "hope and expectation" that lawmakers will be able to "bifurcate" their time by spending one half of the day on his agenda and the other on impeachment. In other words, he wants senators to multitask. Tim O'Donnell

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.