Political Wire

  • Front Page
  • Members
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
  • Trending
  • Resources
    • Politics Extra
    • Political Job Hunt
    • Political Dictionary
    • Electoral Vote Map
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Senate / McConnell Plots Impeachment Trial Strategy
Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!


McConnell Plots Impeachment Trial Strategy

December 20, 2019 at 10:43 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Shattering convention, he held open a Supreme Court seat for 11 months. He twice changed Senate rules to create a record-setting assembly line of conservative federal judicial confirmations. He has been ruthless in his control of the Senate floor, denying Republicans and Democrats alike much opportunity to debate legislation.”

“Now, as a showdown intensifies over President Trump’s impeachment trial, the test for Mr. McConnell is whether he can again bulldoze over Democrats while keeping his Republican colleagues together, persuading them to share both his low regard for the impeachment charges and his view of the Senate’s role.”

FavoriteLoadingSave to Favorites
  • Bluesky
  • X
  • Threads
  • Facebook
  • Email

Filed Under: Senate


You're reading the free version of Political Wire

Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.

  • ✔ Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!
  • ✔ If you're already a member, log in for the full experience.



Recent Posts

Justices Decline to Revisit Same-Sex Marriage Decision

November 10, 2025 at 9:37 am EST

“The Supreme Court on Monday declined an opportunity to overturn its landmark precedent recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, tossing aside an appeal that had roiled LGBTQ advocates who…

Bernie Sanders Looks to Flex the Left’s Power

November 10, 2025 at 9:16 am EST

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) “is wading ever more deeply into the Democratic Party’s ideological tug of war, endorsing Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota in her contested primary race to…

BBC Chairman Apologizes to Trump

November 10, 2025 at 9:11 am EST

“The chairman of the BBC apologized Monday for how the U.K. state broadcaster edited a speech by President Trump, in an effort to draw a line under a scandal that…

Democrats Fume Over Deal to End Shutdown

November 10, 2025 at 9:10 am ESTNovember 10, 2025 at 9:18 am EST

“The decision by eight Democratic senators to side with Republicans to advance a bill to end the government shutdown drew heated condemnations from other members of the party and reopened…

Some Final Thoughts on the Shutdown Deal

November 10, 2025 at 8:56 am ESTNovember 10, 2025 at 8:59 am EST

I could write endlessly about government shutdowns. These clashes embody everything about politics that I find fascinating and they really showcase how Washington works. Before moving on, here are some…

Kash Patel Broke Pledge to Head of MI5

November 10, 2025 at 8:37 am EST

New York Times: “British security officials rely on the bureau for high-tech surveillance tools — the kind they might need to monitor a new embassy that China wants to build…

Appeals Court Says Trump Must Fully Fund SNAP

November 10, 2025 at 7:34 am EST

“A federal appeals court late on Sunday allowed a judge’s order to stand that directs President Donald Trump’s administration to fully fund this month’s food aid benefits for 42 million…

How Democrats Misread Republicans on the Shutdown

November 10, 2025 at 7:09 am ESTNovember 10, 2025 at 7:10 am EST

Unlike most past government shutdowns, polls showed voters this time placed the blame mostly on President Trump and congressional Republicans — not on Democrats, even though it was Democrats who…

Deal to End Shutdown Tears Apart Democrats

November 10, 2025 at 7:08 am ESTNovember 10, 2025 at 7:36 am EST

Playbook: “We have movement. After 40 days and 40 nights of a truly biblical government shutdown, the Senate last night moved forward with a procedural vote that should mean this…

Trump Renews Call to Repeal Obamacare

November 10, 2025 at 7:07 am ESTNovember 10, 2025 at 7:13 am EST

“Over the weekend, in the face of the longest federal government shutdown in history, a familiar refrain has arisen from President Trump and other Republicans: Repeal Obamacare,” Stat reports. “Republicans…

‘I Should Have Quit’

November 10, 2025 at 7:06 am ESTNovember 10, 2025 at 7:14 am EST

John Fetterman: “My stroke almost killed me. Depression almost drove me to suicide. I made it through only after a stranger reminded me what I still had to live for.”…

Ghislaine Maxwell to Ask Trump to Commute Her Sentence

November 10, 2025 at 7:04 am ESTNovember 10, 2025 at 7:15 am EST

Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking co-conspirator, is planning to apply for a commutation of her federal prison sentence, which is set to run through 2037, according to documents obtained…

Bipartisan Deal to End Shutdown Tests Ossoff’s Resolve

November 10, 2025 at 7:01 am ESTNovember 10, 2025 at 7:18 am EST

“The U.S. Senate reached a deal Sunday that would end the longest federal government shutdown in history. But they’ve done it without most Democrats, including Georgia U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff,”…

The Democrats’ Shutdown Surrender

November 10, 2025 at 6:48 am ESTNovember 10, 2025 at 6:49 am EST

Dan Pfeiffer: “Well, no one can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like the Democrats.” “Less than a week after a resounding victory — one Trump even blamed on…

Trump Pardons Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows

November 10, 2025 at 6:11 am EST

“President Donald Trump has pardoned a long list of his political allies for their support or involvement in alleged plans to overturn the 2020 presidential election, according to the Department…

Senate Democrats Just Made a Huge Mistake

November 9, 2025 at 10:50 pm EST

Jonathan Chait: “The conventional wisdom about government shutdowns is that they always fail. Senate Democrats probably assumed as much when they shut down the government. Perhaps they thought they were…

Trump Says Obama Is Paid Royalties on Obamacare

November 9, 2025 at 10:06 pm ESTNovember 9, 2025 at 10:45 pm EST

Donald Trump promoted the false claim that Barack Obama has earned $40 million in “royalties linked to Obamacare” in a post to his 11 million followers on Truth Social on…

Greg Abbott to Run for Fourth Term

November 9, 2025 at 10:04 pm EST

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced on Sunday evening that he is running for a fourth term as governor of the Lone Star State, CBS News reports. Save to Favorites

Democrats Get Nothing

November 9, 2025 at 7:33 pm ESTNovember 9, 2025 at 7:56 pm EST

Senators have finally reached a deal to end the government shutdown, with negotiators saying they have “more than enough” Democratic votes to move the agreement forward. In exchange for reopening…

Enough Democrats Expected to Vote to End Shutdown

November 9, 2025 at 7:07 pm ESTNovember 9, 2025 at 7:09 pm EST

“The Senate is angling to take a key test vote as early as Sunday night on a plan that would reopen the government,” ABC News reports. “The vote would be…

« The Impeachment Time Bomb
Space Force Launches »

Get Smarter About Politics

Members get exclusive analysis, a trending news page, the Trial Balloon podcast, bonus newsletters and no advertising. Learn more.

Your Account

Sign in

Latest for Members

  • Some Final Thoughts on the Shutdown Deal
  • How Democrats Misread Republicans on the Shutdown
  • Democrats Get Nothing
  • Weekly News Quiz
  • The Harder They Fall

Word of the Day

Sandbagging: Sandbagging is deceptive behavior intended to lower someone’s expectations so that they can be taken by surprise later.

Read the full definition

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

Copyright © 2025 · Goddard Media LLC | Privacy Policy | Corrections Policy

Political Wire ® is a registered trademark of Goddard Media LLC