What to expect during President Trump's impeachment trial
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Tuesday's proceedings will mark just the third time in U.S. history that a president will face an impeachment trial.
Hamline University Political Science Professor David Schultz says the first order of business in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial will be for senators to vote on the ground rules on Tuesday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is proposing each side have 24 hours over two days to present its case. After that, senators will get a chance to ask questions and consider whether or not to call witnesses or introduce evidence.
"Once you start to call witnesses, then you open a whole new can of worms,” said Schultz. “Not sure where it’s going to go at this point. McConnell wants to sort of orchestrate and control this."
Unlike President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial in the late ‘90s, during which witness testimony dragged on for weeks, Schultz says Senate leadership wants Trump's trial wrapped up by the Iowa Caucus and the State of the Union early next month.
Like the Clinton impeachment trial, Schultz believes there's a slim chance President Trump will actually be removed from office.
"It is a 53 to 47 majority for Republicans,” he said. “In order to remove the president, you need 67 senators to remove. Essentially you would have to have all the Democrats, all 47 of them vote to remove and then have 20 Republicans go along. That's highly unlikely that's going to happen."
Schultz says even though the proceedings may be less dramatic than the trials most viewers see on TV shows and movies, it will be an civics lesson worth watching.
"This is about all the things we learn in school,” he said. “Checks and balances. Separation of powers. That's the stuff that is really being fought over right now."