
James I. Wallner is a senior fellow at the R Street Institute, an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of America, the author of two books on the Senate, and a former vice president at The Heritage Foundation. Before joining Heritage, Wallner was the executive director of the Senate Steering Committee during the chairmanships of Pat Toomey and Mike Lee.
A review of the Constitution’s text and the delegates’ deliberations at the 1787 Federal Convention raises significant questions about the case for late impeachment.
Now that they’ve passed an impeachment bill, Democrats are slow-walking the process in a bid to secure procedural guarantees from Senate Republicans on how the trial will unfold.
Can senators amend a resolution of termination under the National Emergencies Act? Yes.
The way Republican leaders corralled the votes previously left them unable to oppose the president’s agreement to suspend the debt ceiling and fund the government for three months.
Getting the Senate back to work doesn’t require changing its rules. Republicans have all the tools they need to curb Democrats’ ability to obstruct their agenda.
An unwillingness to let go will lead to gridlock and inaction as the majority party is unable to resolve its internal disputes yet also unwilling to advance the legislative process.