Trump Impeachment: McConnell's Trial Schedule Allows For Vote On Witnesses, Mentions No 'Kill Switch'

The organizing resolution for President Donald Trump's impeachment trial laid out by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., allots each side 24 hours over two days to make their opening arguments, news reports said.

Following the opening arguments, senators will have a period of 16 hours to ask questions in writing and consider subpoenas of witnesses, The Hill reported.

The resolution reportedly makes no mention of a "kill switch," or a motion to dismiss the case if Democrats tried to drag out the trial, as was reported earlier but it can be made by Wednesday morning.

After the opening arguments are heard, the Senate will vote on admitting as evidence any documents collected as part of the House impeachment inquiry, as they won't be automatically admitted. The rules do not require additional witnesses to be subpoenaed but they allow a vote on calling new witnesses to testify. The latter is something that has been favored by moderate Republicans including Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. Democrats require the support of four Senate Republicans to require the calling of new witnesses.

Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., called the resolution "nothing short of a national disgrace” in a statement Monday afternoon, and vowed to force votes on amendments. Based on the rules, arguments will begin Wednesday afternoon and Schumer said House managers will be forced to present well into the evening, making it harder to introduce evidence. The rules are modeled on the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in 1999, but during that trial Republican managers had three days to make use of the 24 hours allotted for their opening arguments.

McConnell reportedly wanted to make the proceedings as painful as it can possibly be to keep senators focused on getting through it quickly and House managers now face the challenging task of presenting hundreds of pages of evidence and testimony made over weeks within 24 hours.

Earlier President Trump poked fun at Schumer in a tweet, saying the Senate Minority Leader was asking for "fairness" in the impeachment trial when House Democrats had offered him "zero fairness."