Washington Week Ahead: Senate moves nominees as impeachment trial set

The Senate is set to confirm Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen while formally starting an impeachment trial that threatens to slow down progress on President Joe Biden’s policy agenda. Meanwhile, Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan is running into stiff resistance from Senate Republicans, who are balking at the price tag. The Democratic-controlled Senate is still in the awkward position of operating with Republican committee chairs because the Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have yet to agree on an organizing resolution. Schumer has refused to agree to McConnell’s demands to include a provision in the resolution preserving the 60-vote requirement for moving most bills. However, Schumer did announce a schedule Friday evening for trying the impeachment article against former President Donald Trump that the House passed following the rioting at the Capitol by Trump supporters on Jan. 6. The impeachment article will be formally read to the Senate on Monday evening, and senators will be sworn in Tuesday for the trial. However, the formal trial will not start until Feb. 8, giving Trump’s legal team time to prepare its briefs. Read more