Congress Is Divided Over Impeachment’s Legislative Limbo. Turns Out, Americans Are Too.

Speaker Pelosi has not sent the two articles of impeachment—abuse of power and obstruction of Congress—over to the Senate or named House lawmakers to prosecute the case. Until the Speaker makes these two moves, the Senate cannot start preparing for the trial.

Like other impeachment standoffs of this presidency, American opinion is divided but unmoving. Just as they are split on whether Trump should be impeached, so too is Americans’ relative support for the political maneuverings of Democrats and Republicans in Congress. The one thing the public appears to clearly hope for is a fair trial untainted by politics. Actions that smack of politics or bias are viewed more negatively.

Regarding whether House Democrats should delay the Senate trial, Americans are split nearly down the middle, with a bare majority (52%) believing House Democrats should not delay, according to our most recent impeachment tracker with FiveThirtyEight. Even among those who believe President Trump has committed an impeachable offense, only 53% support delaying the Senate trial further.

Speaker Pelosi is using this delay to negotiate better terms for Senate Democrats, who are in the minority in the upper branch of the legislature. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said he was “not impartial about [impeachment] at all” and openly planned to coordinate with the White House on the layout of the Senate trial.

While public opinion is not on Pelosi’s side for holding up the articles in the House, there is widespread consensus that the impartiality Pelosi is negotiating for is important. Only about 10% of Americans believe that a senator’s vote should be guided by their party, while about 86% believe that senators should attempt to be impartial jurors. Notably this is one of the few issues that Americans agree on regardless of party or whether they think President Trump has committed an impeachable offense.

A third question holding the impeachment articles up in the House is whether and when new witnesses should be called during the trial. About 57% of Americans believe the Senate should allow new witnesses, with a nearly 30-point gulf in agreement between those who believe President Trump has committed an impeachable offense and those who believe he did not. The divide between Democrats and Republicans is significantly less, falling only 15-points apart.

This may be good news for moderate Republican senators who may be the key to swinging a Senate vote in favor of the procedural guidelines Democrats want. Sen. Susan Collins (R- ME) said she is open to hearing witnesses, while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R- AK) openly condemned Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell’s “total coordination” with the White House along with the President’s actions in Ukraine. Sen. Mitt Romney (R- UT) admonished the president’s dealings with Ukraine but has made no mention of the Senate trial.

Overall, Americans aren’t looking favorably on how each party in Congress is dealing with impeachment. Democrats in Congress enjoy a 35% approval rate for how they are handling the impeachment process, while Republicans in Congress win only 28% approval for that same measure.

As the 2020 election cycle ramps up, impeachment will no doubt be a constant talking point as candidates from both parties make their case for election.