President Biden said Friday that he still had to review Senate Republicans’ proposed timeline for an impeachment trial of former President Trump but that he’d appreciate having some time to get his administration “up and running.”
“The more time we have to get up and running to meet these crises, the better,” Mr. Biden told reporters at the White House.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California plans to deliver the article of impeachment to the Senate on Monday, which could kick-start the beginning of a trial as soon as Tuesday.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has suggested pushing the start of the trial to mid-February to give Mr. Trump and his team additional time to prepare their arguments.
Mr. Biden’s comments suggest that he’d be OK with that sort of timeline.
Sen. John Barrasso, Wyoming Republican, said that moving on Mrs. Pelosi’s timeline would mean Mr. Biden won’t get his entire Cabinet in place until the impeachment process is over.
Mrs. Pelosi suggested in a letter to colleagues on Friday that Mr. Trump will have had plenty of time to strategize if lawmakers move forward early next week.
“When the Article of Impeachment is transmitted to the Senate, the former President will have had nearly two weeks since we passed the Article,” she said.
The White House has repeatedly said that they expect the Senate to tackle impeachment and other issues at the same time.
The Democrat-led House impeached Mr. Trump last week for inciting a violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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