Schumer, McConnell Clash Over Senate Impeachment Trial

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) (L) holds a press conference at the US Capitol in Washington on Dec. 17, 2019. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) (R) speaks to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 17, 2019. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

The top senators of each party clashed over how a Senate impeachment trial will play out, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) differing over the need for an “impartial” jury and whether or not to call new witnesses.

McConnell said during the 1999 trial of President Bill Clinton that it was “not unusual to have witnesses in an impeachment trial” and was asked Tuesday whether he'd done a “180” from then.