Mitch McConnell

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Chief Justice, it will surprise no one that I move to table the amendment and ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Chief Justice, I move to table the amendment and ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Chief Justice, I move to table the amendment.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Chief Justice, I make a motion to table the amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Chief Justice.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Chief Justice, I would like to say, on behalf of all of us, we want to thank you for your patience. (Applause.)

Mr. McCONNELL. On scheduling, assuming there are no more amendments, the next vote will be on adoption of the resolution, and then all Senators should stay in their seats until the trial is adjourned for the evening.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Chief Justice, I ask unanimous consent that the trial adjourn until 1 p.m., Wednesday, January 22, and that this order also constitute the adjournment of the Senate.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, it took 4 weeks--4 weeks, but the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives is finally ready-- finally ready--to defend their impeachment of the President of the United States. After weeks of delay, the Speaker of the House decided yesterday that a trial could finally go forward. She signed the impeachment papers. That took place at a table with a political slogan stuck onto it. And they posed--they posed--afterward for smiling photos. And the Speaker distributed souvenir pens--souvenir pens--to her own colleagues, emblazoned with her golden signature that literally came in on silver platters. The pens literally came in on silver platters. There were golden pens on silver platters, a souvenir to celebrate the moment. I seem to remember Democrats falling over themselves to say they did not see impeachment as a long-sought political win. House Democrats said over and over that they recognized the gravity and the seriousness of this action, and, of course, they had only come to it reluctantly. Well, nothing says seriousness and sobriety like handing out souvenirs, as though this were a happy bill-signing instead of the gravest process in our Constitution. This final display neatly distilled the House's partisan process into one perfect visual. It was a transparently partisan performance from beginning to end. That is why they sped through a slapdash inquiry in 12 weeks, when previous Presidential impeachments came after months, if not years, of investigations and hearings. That is why the House cut short their own inquiry, declined to pursue their own subpoenas, and denied the President due process, but now--now they want the Senate to redo their homework and rerun the investigation. That is why our colleague the Democratic leader told the press that whatever happens next, as long as he can weaponize the trial to hurt the Republicans in the 2020 election, ``it's a win-win.'' That is what the Democratic leader of the Senate said. That is why the Speaker of the House apparently saw nothing strange about celebrating the third Presidential impeachment in American history with souvenirs and posed for photographs--souvenirs and posed photographs. That pretty well sums it up. That is what the process has been thus far, but it is not what this process will be going forward. The Founding Fathers who crafted and ratified our Constitution knew that our Nation might sometimes fall prey to the kind of dangerous factualism and partisanship that has consumed--literally consumed the House of Representatives. The Framers set up the Senate specifically to act as a check against the short-termism and the runaway passions to which the House of Representatives might fall victim. Alexander Hamilton worried that ``the demon of faction'' would ``extend his scepter'' over the House majorities ``at certain seasons.'' That is what Alexander Hamilton said. He feared for the viability of the government established by the Constitution if, blinded by factualism, the House of Representatives would abuse the power of impeachment to serve nakedly partisan goals rather than long-term interests of the American people and their Republic, but, fortunately, they did something about it. They did not give both the power to impeach and the power to remove to the House. They divided the power and placed the final decision on removal over here in the Senate. This body, this Chamber, exists precisely--precisely so we can look past the daily dramas and understand how our actions will reverberate for generations; so we can put aside animal reflexes and animosity and coolly consider how to best serve our country in the long run; so we can break factional fevers before they jeopardize the core institutions of our government. As Hamilton put it, only the Senate, with ``confidence enough in its own situation,'' can ``preserve, unawed and uninfluenced, the necessary impartiality between an individual accused, and the representatives of the people, his accusers.'' The House's hour is over. The Senate's time is at hand. It is time for this proud body to honor our founding purpose.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on an entirely different matter, before we turn to the trial in earnest, the Senate has one more major accomplishment to deliver to the American people. Yesterday we began floor consideration of the most significant update to the North American trade policy in nearly 30 years. In just a couple of hours, we are going to pass the USMCA and send it to President Trump for his signature. It was back in 2018 when the Trump administration finalized its talks with the Governments of Mexico and Canada. This has been a major priority for the President and for many of us in both Houses of Congress. That is because American livelihoods in every corner of every State depend on these critical trading relationships. Farmers, growers, cattlemen, manufacturers, small businesses, big businesses--this is a major step for our whole country. In the 26 years since the ratification of NAFTA, trade with Mexico and Canada has come to directly support 12 million American jobs--12 million workers and their families who depend on robust trade with our North American neighbors. Our neighbors to the north and south purchase half a trillion dollars in American goods and services every single year. That includes more than a quarter of all the food and agricultural products we export. Take my home State of Kentucky as an example. Mexico and Canada buy $300 million of agricultural exports from Kentucky growers and producers every year. They buy $9.9 billion of our State's manufacturing exports--and on and on. Commerce with our neighbors is essential across the board. No wonder experts estimate that USMCA would create 176,000 new American jobs. No wonder they predict it will yield tens of billions of dollars in economic growth. No wonder farmers, ranchers, steelworkers, and manufacturers across our country have been so eager to see the USMCA signed, sealed, and delivered. In one recent letter, Kentucky farmers told me: ``We need the agreement ratified, and we need it to happen now.'' I know my colleagues have been hearing the same thing from their home States. Republicans, Democrats, Senators, Representatives--our incoming has been the same: Get this deal passed. Failure is not an option. Of course, for far too long, our counterparts in the House kept all these Americans waiting. It took more than a year and a lot of pressure from Senate Republicans to get the Speaker of the House to stop blocking the trade deal and finally let the House vote on it. Late last year, she finally relented. It passed by a big bipartisan margin, of course, and I now expect that kind of vote will repeat itself here in the Senate. I am especially grateful to our colleagues and counterparts who got this across the finish line: to the U.S. Trade Representative, Bob Lighthizer, and his hard-working team, led by his chief of staff, Jamieson Greer; to Chairman Grassley for leading the bipartisan effort in the Senate Finance Committee and his trade team, led by Nasim Fussell; to Ranking Member Wyden and his trade counsel, Jayme White, and all of our Finance Committee colleagues and staff; and to the chairmen of our other committees of jurisdiction who worked nimbly to get this done. I want to thank the exceptional Cloakroom staff--in particular, Christopher Tuck. I would like to thank members of my own team whose efforts were invaluable, most especially my chief economic policy council, Jay Khosla, whose role in securing this agreement has been absolutely essential; Ali Nepola in my personal office; Erica Suares and my leadership policy advisers; and, of course, their fearless leaders, Sharon Soderstrom, my chief of staff, and my deputy chief of staff for policy, Scott Raab. Of course, I am most grateful to President Trump for prioritizing, negotiating, and delivering on this major promise. Today the Senate will send this landmark agreement to the President's desk--a big bipartisan win. It comes the very same week as President Trump also signed phase one of his administration's trade agreement with China-- quite a week of substantive accomplishments for the Nation, for the President, and for our international trade. Both of these measures will only add to all the other Republican policies of the past 3 years that have helped generate this historically strong economic moment for working Americans and for their families. I would urge every one of our colleagues to join me in voting to pass the USMCA.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for the information of Senators, under the previous order, at 12 noon the Senate will receive the managers of the House of Representatives to exhibit the Articles of Impeachment against Donald John Trump, President of the United States.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, also, under the previous order, the Presiding Officer has been authorized to appoint a committee of four Senators, two upon the recommendation of the majority leader and two upon the recommendation of the Democratic leader, to escort the Chief Justice into the Senate Chamber. I ask that the Presiding Officer do so now.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for the information of Senators, there will be a live quorum call prior to the arrival of the Chief Justice at 2 p.m. today.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, for the information of Senators, pursuant to yesterday's order, at 2 o'clock today, the Senate will proceed to the consideration of the Articles of Impeachment. The Chief Justice of the United States will preside over the trial, as required in article I, section 3, clause 6, of the United States Constitution.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I would like to ask all of our colleagues to take a seat. Mr. President, I am about to suggest the absence of a quorum. For the information of all of our colleagues, this will be a live quorum. Following that, we will consider the Articles of Impeachment, which will commence with the swearing in of the Chief Justice of the United States and all Senators.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Accordingly, then, Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, at this time, pursuant to rule IV of the Senate Rules on Impeachment and the United States Constitution, the Presiding Officer will now administer the oath to John G. Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States.

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Chief Justice, any Senator who was not in the Senate Chamber at the time the oath was administered to the other Senators will make that fact known to the Chair so that the oath may be administered as soon as possible.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Chief Justice, for the information of the Senate, on my behalf and that of the distinguished Democratic leader, I am about to propound several unanimous consent requests that will assist with the organization of the next steps of these proceedings. They deal largely with necessary paperwork incident to the trial.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Chief Justice, I ask unanimous consent that the summons be issued in the usual form provided that the President may have until 6 p.m. on Saturday, January 18, 2020, to file his answer with the Secretary of the Senate, which will be spread upon the Journal, and the House of Representatives have until 12 noon on Monday, January 20, 2020, to file its replication with the Secretary of the Senate; finally, I ask unanimous consent that the Secretary of the Senate be authorized to print as a Senate document those documents filed by the parties together, to be available to all parties.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Chief Justice, I ask unanimous consent that if the House of Representatives wishes to file a trial brief, it be filed with the Secretary of the Senate by 5 p.m. on Saturday, January 18, 2020; further, that if the President wishes to file a trial brief, it be filed with the Secretary of the Senate by 12 noon on Monday, January 20, 2020; further, that if the House wishes to file a rebuttal brief, it be filed with the Secretary of the Senate by 12 noon on Tuesday, January 21, 2020. Finally, I ask unanimous consent that the Secretary of the Senate be authorized to print as a Senate document all documents filed by the parties together, to be available for all parties.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate stand in recess subject to the call of the Chair.

Mr. McCONNELL

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. Chief Justice, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate, sitting as a Court of Impeachment, adjourn until Tuesday, January 21, 2020, at 1 p.m.