WASHINGTON -- Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blamed President Donald Trump for the deadly riot at the Capitol, saying the mob was "fed lies" and that the president and others "provoked" those intent on overturning Democrat Joe Biden's election.
Ahead of Trump's historic second impeachment trial, McConnell's remarks were his most severe and public rebuke of the outgoing president. Republicans are weighing whether to convict Trump on the impeachment charge that will soon be sent over from the House: "incitement of insurrection."
"The mob was fed lies," McConnell said. "They were provoked by the president and other powerful people, and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government, which they did not like."
The Republican leader vowed a "safe and successful" inauguration of Biden today at the Capitol, where final preparations were underway amid heavy security.
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Trump's last full day in office Tuesday was also senators' first day back since the deadly Capitol siege and since the House voted to impeach him for his role in the riot.
Three new Democratic senators-elect are set to be sworn into office today shortly after Biden's inauguration, giving the Democrats the majority, a 50-50 Senate chamber. The new vice president, Kamala Harris, will swear them in and serve as an eventual tie-breaking vote.
The Democrats, led by Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer, will take charge of the Senate as they launch a trial to hold the president responsible for the siege, while also quickly confirming Biden's Cabinet and being asked to consider passage of a sweeping new $1.9 trillion covid-19 relief bill.
"The inauguration of a new president and the start of a new administration always brings a flurry of activity to our nation's government," Schumer said in remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday morning. "But rarely has so much piled up for the Senate as during this particular transition."
Making the case for Trump's conviction, Schumer said the Senate needs to set a precedent that the "severest offense ever committed by a president would be met by the severest remedy provided by the Constitution -- impeachment," and disbarment from future office.
McConnell and Schumer conferred later Tuesday about how to organize the evenly divided chamber and how to balance the trial with other business. Leaving a meeting with the Republican leader, Schumer would only say the two had "discussed a whole lot of issues."
Similarly, McConnell told reporters the two had a "good meeting" but offered no details.
Some Republicans want to halt the impeachment trial. Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn was among those Republicans casting doubt on the legal ability of the Senate to convict a president no longer in office, though legal scholars differ on the issue.
"It's never happened before and maybe that's for a good reason," he said.
The House impeached Trump last week on the sole charge -- incitement of insurrection -- making him the only president to be impeached twice. A protester died during the riot and a police officer died later of injuries; three other people involved died of medical emergencies. He was first impeached in 2019 over relations with Ukraine and was acquitted in 2020 by the Senate.
Separately, Georgia's secretary of state certified the results of the two U.S. Senate runoff elections Tuesday, paving the way for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to be sworn in and for Democrats to take control of the chamber.
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The certification by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger officially seals Warnock and Ossoff's victories over their Republican opponents in the Jan. 5 runoffs. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, both incumbents, conceded days after the election. Shortly after certification by Raffensperger, Gov. Brian Kemp signed off on their certificates of election.
Information for this article was contributed by Eric Tucker and Ben Nadler of The Associated Press.
