Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Tuesday repeated the widely-held belief among his leftist colleagues that President Donald Trump should “not be eligible to run for office ever again,” a goal they hope to achieve as part of the forthcoming Senate impeachment trial.
“After what he has done, the consequences of which we were all witness to, Donald Trump should not be eligible to run for office ever again,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Tuesday, the last full day of Trump’s presidency.
“Let me be clear: There will be an impeachment trial in the United States Senate. There will be a vote on convicting the president for high crimes and misdemeanors. If the president is convicted, there will be a vote on barring him again,” the New York Democrat continued.
While many Democrats originally called on Congress to remove Trump from office, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) nixed the possibility, circulating a timeline earlier this month indicating that proceedings would not take place while Trump remained in office, making removing him via impeachment and a subsequent conviction in the Senate an impossibility.
However, Democrats, as Schumer revealed, still hope to prevent Trump from running for office in the future. Trump teased a potential 2024 run during a Christmas party at the White House last month, telling supporters, “It’s been an amazing four years. We’re trying to do another four years, otherwise, I’ll see you in four years.”
Senate Majority Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spoke about the Capitol protest Tuesday and repeated the narrative many of his Democrat colleagues have pushed, concluding Trump and others “provoked” the demonstrators.
“The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the President and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like,” the Kentucky Republican said.
“But we pressed on. We stood together and said an angry mob would not get veto power over the rule of law in our nation,” he said:
McConnell said he has not yet determined if he will vote to convict Trump and reportedly told GOP colleagues their decision will be a “vote of conscience.”