Senate Decided Not to Call Trump Impeachment Witnesses Because ‘People Want to Get Home for Valentine’s Day’: Report
Senate Democrats had, despite their collective vote to hear witnesses, not actually wanted to do anything of the sort and quickly rushed to undo the motion at the request of President Joe Biden‘s leading man in the Senate: Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.).
Described by Politico as “Biden’s ambassador to the GOP,” Coons is said to be “critical to advancing the new president’s agenda.”
Politico also reported on the witness kerfuffle:
A person close to Coons said that he spoke to the parliamentarian and GOP senators and conveyed to the managers that opening up the witnesses question would lead to days if not weeks of debate over the matter and that Republicans were ready to vote. In particular, Coons said that GOP Leader Mitch McConnell‘s plans to acquit demonstrated that there was a ceiling to how many Republicans would go along.
“The jury is ready to vote,” Coons told House impeachment managers, according to the outlet. “People want to get home for Valentine‘s Day.”