As Democrats are reviewing Sen. Mitch McConnell’s offer on how to structure the impeachment trial including a delay to February, multiple Democratic aides say it’s not a bad idea to wait.
Sen. Chris Coons, who is a close ally to President Biden, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer he wasn’t shutting the door to the idea of delaying the trial if it meant Biden got nominees confirmed quickly. Coons isn’t the only Democrat who thinks that delay could be a way to allow Biden a bit of breathing room in his first days in office.
Multiple aides say that Democrats have been waiting for years to have the House, Senate and White House back again, and an impeachment trial has always been a daunting task. It’s something Democrats believe they can’t ignore. They have wanted to hold the President accountable, but allowing more time could provide them the space they need to move Biden’s nominees along.
On the Republican side, the benefits for delaying the trial are obvious. It gives Trump’s newly formed team time to prepare as well as offers McConnell more time to take the temperature of his conference who has up to this point been divided over whether Trump can even be convicted now that he is no longer in office.