During a press conference on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made it very clear he believes that if the Senate voted on whether or not President Donald Trump should be removed from office based on the Democrats' impeachment probe, it's highly unlikely to happen.
According to McConnell, he said the first thing he would want to do should the House decide to move forward with articles of impeachment would be to "look at what the agreement was 20 years ago," when then-Speaker Newt Gingrich led the House's impeachment probe into President Bill Clinton. Congress would use that to come to a consensus on how to handle the progress, McConnell said.
"After that, it’s largely out of our hands, in the hands of the chief justice who presides over, who rules on motions. And how long it goes on really just depends on how long the Senate wants to spend on it," the Majority Leader said bluntly. "I will say I’m pretty sure how it’s likely to end, if it were today. I don’t think there’s any question, it would not lead to a removal."
McConnell brought up a valid point, especially for 2020 Democratic presidential contenders who currently hold positions in the Senate: are they willing to give up time on the campaign trail in order to move forward with impeachment proceedings, especially as we head into the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire primary?
"So the question is how long does the Senate want to take? How long do the presidential candidates want to be here on the floor of the Senate instead of in Iowa and New Hampshire?" he asked.
At the end of the day, McConnell still believes Democrats would not be successful with their impeachment push.
"I’d be surprised if it didn’t end the way the two previous ones did with the president not being removed from office," he said.
Let's call the Democrats' impeachment probe what it is: one giant charade. They want to fire up progressive voters on the campaign trail so they can get them out to vote against Trump next year. They want the benefit without actually going through the motions.
Think about it.
Most of the "top tier" candidates are in the Senate: Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Cory Booker (D-NJ). That would leave former Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), entrepreneur Andrew Yang and former HUD Secretary Julian Castro on the campaign trail.
The last thing these candidates want is to lose time on the ground in early battleground states. Starting this "impeachment inquiry" is their way of claiming impeachment is happening without losing the political advantage they so desperately want – and need.