Rand Paul Backs Hawley Bill to Dismiss Impeachment 'Witch Hunt'

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) cosponsored Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-MO) resolution Tuesday to dismiss House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) articles of impeachment for lack of prosecution.

Sen. Hawley introduced a resolution Monday to update the Senate rules to allow a motion to dismiss articles of impeachment for lack of prosecution. The bill featured strong support from across the Senate Republican conference, including Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Steve Daines (R-MT).

Sen. Paul backed the resolution Tuesday, believing that the bill would not only dismiss Speaker Pelosi’s “witch hunt,” but also prevent future partisan games.

The Kentucky Republican said in a statement Tuesday:

House Democrats desperately tried to convince the American people that President Trump had to be impeached, but they have demonstrated their lack of seriousness and respect for the constitutional process they claim to be guarding by withholding the articles from the Senate until they get the trial they want. It is time to put an end to a witch hunt that started based on a hoax. Passing this resolution would not only break the current deadlock, but it would help prevent such partisan games from being played again in future Congresses.

The Senate has adopted 26 rules that govern impeachment proceedings, known as the “Rules of Procedure and Practice in the Senate Sitting on Impeachment Trials.” The current Senate rules presume that the articles of impeachment would immediately be sent to Congress’s upper chamber if the House votes on impeachment. For instance, during the Bill Clinton impeachment proceedings, the articles were sent to the Senate the same day the House voted to impeach Clinton.

Sen. Hawley’s resolution would allow the Senate to address this current standoff between Pelosi and the Senate by allowing a majority of senators to dismiss the articles of impeachment for lack of prosecution. The House of Representatives would have up to 25 calendar days to transmit the articles to the Senate.

The Missouri Republican’s proposal quickly gained steam from grassroots conservatives such as the Club for Growth and the Tea Party Patriots.

Read Sen. Hawley’s resolution to dismiss the impeachment trial.