As the House is set to send the article of impeachment to the Senate today another senator has made his stance clear on the second impeachment of Trump, and he thinks it’s a “moot point.” South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds announced that he firmly believes holding a second impeachment is ultimately a waste of time and resources. The Republican senator also noted the trial raises constitutional issues as well as will impede the Biden administration’s agenda.
Fox News reports:
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Rounds addressed the subject by first asserting that impeachment is the constitutionally prescribed method for removing an official, not punishing one who is already gone.
“To begin with, I think it’s a moot point, because I think right now Donald Trump is no longer the president, he is a former president,” Rounds said. “The Constitution, and I think, and I know that there are other people out there that may disagree with me, but Article I Sections I think 6 and 7 specifically point out that you can impeach the president, and it does not indicate that you can impeach someone who is not in office. So I think it’s a moot point and I think it’s one that they would have a very difficult time in trying to get done within the Senate.”
Rounds went on to say that while the Senate is bogged down with carrying out a trial, they will be using up time that could instead be spent on other tasks such as holding hearings and votes to confirm President Biden’s Cabinet picks. So far, the Senate has confirmed Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
“I know that the Biden administration would love to have more of their Cabinet in place, there’s a number of Republicans who also feel the same way,” Rounds said. “We should allow this president the opportunity to form his Cabinet, and to get that in place as quickly as possible. If we start working on an impeachment, which looks like we’re going to end up doing, we’ve only got a couple of weeks here in which to actually work through and allow this president an opportunity to form a Cabinet. A lot of us would prefer to maybe work through those issues instead.”
Rounds followed the example from a few other Republican senators which have raised questions and concerns regarding a second impeachment trial. Over the weekend, Florida senator Marco Rubio also denounced the impeachment and called it “counterproductive” for the nation.
