Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) announced they have cosponsored Senator Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) resolution to allow for the dismissal of articles of impeachment against President Trump for failure to prosecute.
Senator Cornyn said, “It’s been three weeks and counting since the House passed articles of impeachment, and Speaker Pelosi is still playing games after insisting the President’s removal from office was urgent. This critical change will reinforce the Constitution and help prevent the House from using impeachment for personal political gain like the Speaker is sadly doing now.”
Senator Lee said, “The authors of the Constitution created the impeachment power to be a rarely used constitutional safeguard of the public trust. It was never meant to be a partisan tool used to harass a sitting president. This rule change will limit the House’s ability to play partisan political games with impeachment. If a president is a true threat to the republic, articles to impeach him should be delivered to the Senate with haste.”
Senator Moran said, “Our Constitution guarantees a fair and speedy trial to defendants, and Congress must provide these same guarantees to public officials facing impeachment. Speaker Pelosi has had three weeks to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate, but instead she is choosing to use the impeachment articles for political gain. This sensible resolution requires the Senate to move forward with impeachment trials in a timely manner and helps prevent Congress from playing political games with the impeachment procedure.”
Last week Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) backed Sen. Hawley’s resolution, meaning it now has 16 cosponsors including Senators Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), David Perdue (R-Ga.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.).