WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) ─ After weeks of waiting, the Senate impeachment trial against President Donald Trump is about to begin.
The House voted to impeach Trump last month on charges of abusing his power by enlisting a foreign government to investigate a political rival ahead of the 2020 election and obstructing Congress during their investigation into the matter.
House Democrats carried the articles of impeachment ceremoniously to the Senate Wednesday afternoon, setting the stage for only the third trial to remove a president in American history.
The full Senate was administered the oath Thursday to ensure they remain impartial as jurors during the proceedings.
Senator Ben Cardin, D-Maryland, said the oath is a critical part of the trial.
“I think history will look back not as to how the parties did, but how the Senate did,” Cardin said.
Senator Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said all members of the Senate must uphold their constitutional responsibly as impartial jurors.
Democrats continue to call upon Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to allow testimony from new witnesses during the trial.
“That shouldn’t be a Democratic request, that should be a Senate request this is not for one party to win,” Cardin said.
Republicans believe the founders established a high bar before the removal of a president from office that should be followed.
“They understood that what we’re really doing in an impeachment process is saying that, not so much to punish, but because the union was at stake, that you had to remove someone who the people of the country have already provided or put their faith in,” Senator Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, said.
The full Senate trial is slated to begin on Tuesday.
