Senators Lankford, Inhofe Join Resolution Urging Speaker Pelosi to Send Impeachment Articles to Senate

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK) joined Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today to introduce a resolution urging Speaker Pelosi to immediately transmit, consistent with the House’s constitutional obligations, to the Senate the two articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump.

“It’s odd that the House said they needed to urgently impeach President Trump before Christmas, but they are now unwilling to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate unless we agree to hear additional witnesses that the House was unwilling to bring,” said Lankford. “Majority Leader McConnell has made it crystal clear that the House does not dictate the rules of the Senate, just as the Senate does not dictate the rules of the House. The Senate will take up the House’s articles of impeachment immediately after they deliver the articles and will conduct the trial under the same rules the Senate used in 1999 to conduct the trial of Bill Clinton. To date, the House has not even determined who will argue its case for impeachment in the Senate trial or when it will formally send over the articles. Our straight-forward resolution formally calls on the House and Speaker Pelosi to appoint impeachment managers and transmit the articles to the Senate instead of wasting America’s time playing even more politics. In the meantime the Senate will continue to do our business and work on passage of the USMCA trade agreement and essential nominations.”

“Democrats continue to choose politics over the interests of the American people. Meanwhile, the articles are well past due to be sent to the Senate,” Inhofe said. “As I’ve said before, the facts have shown there was no abuse of power or obstruction of Congress. The President has done nothing wrong. Because of this unprecedented and ridiculous impeachment process, the House is distracting us in the Senate from working on important legislative priorities that will benefit hardworking Oklahomans. I’m glad to cosponsor Senator Graham’s resolution urging Speaker Pelosi to immediately send the articles to the Senate, so we can put an end to this partisan process against President Trump. Otherwise, we should dismiss it.”

Full text of the Graham resolution is HERE.

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