Early Wednesday, the Senate approved impeachment trial rules of President Donald Trump on a party-line vote.
The said rules delay the question about the Senate issuing a subpoena on the witnesses and documents.
The Republicans defeated the amendments presented by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer a 53 – 47 vote party – line vote.
Schumer’s 11 proposed amendments include issuing a subpoena on witnesses and on a number of documents from the Trump administration.
The trial heats up as debates continued on, as Chief Justice John Roberts firmly reprimand the House managers and the President’s lawyers.
He stated that the reprimand is “in equal terms to remember that they are addressing the world’s greatest deliberative body.”
The reprimand was given due to a particularly heated back and forth with House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, and Trump Lawyer Jay Sekulow.
The defeated amendments presented are part of an effort to attack the resolution setting out the trial rules.
The approved rules resolution was from Senate Majority Mitch McConnell, which Schumer calls as “designed by President Trump for President Trump.”
As per Schumer, the McConnell rules will result in a rushed trial and going through the evidence will be as hard as possible.
The debate started after McConnell decided to make changes on the trial resolution shortly before it is gaveled in.
This change sparked uproar from the Democrats, and concerns from key Senate Republicans.
In the new resolution, the President’s team and the House impeachment managers is given three days each to come up with their 24 hour trial arguments.
The McConnell’s initial proposal only gives the said parties two days instead of three.
The initial proposal also includes evidences submitted by the House will not be admitted without a vote.
Evidences will now be automatically admitted unless the President’s team files for a motion to throw out the evidence.
The said amendments did not satisfy the Democrats in both chambers, and accused the Senate Republicans to be working with the President to speed up the impeachment trial.