Schumer to Dems: Press McConnell on impeachment but don’t forget ‘legislative graveyard’
Chuck Schumer wants Senate Democrats to keep the pressure on Mitch McConnell to hold a fair trial if impeachment of President Donald Trump comes to the Senate — but he also wants to keep whacking the majority leader for presiding over a "legislative graveyard."
The Senate minority leader convened a conference call with his caucus on Wednesday to stay focused on its double-barreled messaging tactics while his 47 members are scattered across the country in the middle of a two-week recess, according to three people familiar with the call. The call was scheduled last week in place for the party's weekly caucus lunches; he plans to hold another one next week as well.
Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged his colleagues to not act partisan amid the impeachment inquiry and pressure McConnell (R-Ky.) to commit to a fair process if the House impeaches the president, according to a Democratic aide briefed on the call. The Democratic leader said the evidence so far confirms Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) decision to open an inquiry and that there should be a focus on ensuring McConnell allows a fair impeachment trial, the aide said, with Schumer mentioning phrases like "country over party" as key to Democratic messaging.
A second Democrat briefed on the call said some in the party are anxious for more strategic guidance from party leaders.
McConnell said this week he'd have no choice but to take up an impeachment conviction trial in the Senate if Pelosi impeaches the president, but the scope and length of the trial are up for debate.
Schumer also told his troops to press McConnell on taking up election security bills and House-passed legislation like universal background checks for firearm sales, an effort to demonstrate to voters that Democrats still want to work on legislation despite the impeachment inquiry, the Democratic aide said. That largely tracks with Pelosi's strategy; she opened her Wednesday news conference talking about prescription drugs and a new North American trade deal.
McConnell and other Republicans have hit Pelosi for not taking up the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, though Pelosi said on Wednesday she's on a "path to yes" in her push for stronger labor and environmental standards.
