Several senators left the chamber in the middle of Adam Schiff's impeachment remarks
As House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) delivered his remarks during Wednesday's impeachment proceedings, several senators — on both sides — reportedly grew restless.
Some lawmakers, like Sens. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.), were reportedly standing for the last hour of Schiff's presentation, while Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) were caught roaming around. A few folks were reportedly waiting impatiently by the door, and others like Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), who was caught taking a quick snooze during Tuesday's portion of the trial, felt the need to get their blood pumping and left the room completely.
It appears that Schiff could sense the atmosphere and subsequently gave everyone a 10-minute warning, but that reportedly just propelled people to bolt for the door even more quickly. All told, there were somewhere between 20 and 30 empty chairs by the end of the speech.
Talk about restlessness: Senators were expecting a brief recess at 3:08. A half dozen Rs were literally waiting by the door.
When Schiff declared he had 10 mins left, many bolted for the exits anyways. I counted 20+ empty desks on R side, and 6+ on Dem side.
— Sarah Ferris (@sarahnferris) January 22, 2020
Sure, it's not the best look for elected members of the upper chamber deliberating over something as historic as impeachment, but they've had a long couple of days. Sometimes you just need to stretch your legs.
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