Senate

GOP senators say impeachment rules won’t include motion to dismiss

by Jordain Carney - 01/14/20 11:36 AM ET

Members of Republican leadership say they do not expect a yet-to-be unveiled rules resolution for the Senate impeachment trial to have a built-in motion to dismiss — a break with the Clinton impeachment rules.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the No. 2 Republican in the upper chamber, said rules for the impeachment trial are still being “nailed down” but added, “I would be surprised if there was a dismissal motion included. I would bet against it.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), an adviser to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), separately told The Hill that he did not expect a motion to dismiss to be “baked” into the resolution.

“If 51 senators wanted to have that vote we could have it at some point. I don’t believe it’s going to be baked into the underlying resolution,” Cornyn said.

The House is expected to vote on Wednesday to name impeachment trial managers and send the two articles of impeachment to the Senate, paving the way for senators to be sworn in this week.

Republicans have the 51 votes to start the trial without a deal on specific witnesses. But they are still negotiating over the details of what their trial rules will look like.

McConnell sidestepped saying last week whether the Trump trial resolution would include a specific motion to dismiss. GOP senators and aides do not expect the rules resolution will be publicly unveiled until the Senate receives the articles.

“We are going to have a similar resolution. It may not be word for word exactly the same but a similar resolution, and we will be glad to show it to you when we unveil it,” he said.

The 1999 Clinton rules resolution, which passed 100-0, included a spot in the trial after opening arguments and questions from senators where a vote on a motion to dismiss could be forced.

“After the conclusion of questioning by the Senate, it shall be in order to consider and debate a motion to dismiss as outlined by the impeachment rules,” the resolution reads.

Trump backed an “outright dismissal” of the impeachment charges in a tweet over the weekend. But Republican senators say they will not dismiss the charges at the outset, but instead hold an impeachment trial.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the No. 4 GOP senator, told reporters on Monday night that he did not believe the caucus has 51 votes to dismiss the articles of impeachment, predicting the trial will end instead with votes on conviction or acquittal.

“I think our members generally are not interested in a motion to dismiss. … Certainly there aren’t 51 votes for a motion to dismiss,” Blunt said.

Tags Impeachment John Cornyn John Thune Mitch McConnell Roy Blunt