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Vox Sentences: Impeachment like it’s 1999

McConnell is ready to move on impeachment; Spain’s parliament approves a new government.

by Cameron Peters

Jan 9, 2020, 1:00 AM UTC

Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

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Cameron Peters is a staff editor at Vox.

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The rules of impeachment

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Republicans are ready to vote on rules for the impeachment trial of President Trump — without Democratic support. Under his plan, “phase one” of the trial would proceed along the same lines as the 1999 impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. [NPR / Kelsey Snell]
The Senate can’t vote until the House delivers the articles of impeachment, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she won’t do that until she knows more about the rules for the trial. [Washington Post / Felicia Sonmez, Colby Itkowitz, John Wagner, and Seung Min Kim]
McConnell isn’t interested in negotiating with House Democrats on impeachment, though. “There will be no haggling with the House over Senate procedure,” he said in a floor speech. [NYT / Nicholas Fandos]
Senate Democrats hope to peel away at least four moderate Republican votes to ensure their ability to call witnesses at the trial. [CNN / Devan Cole]
The debate over whether to allow additional witness testimony at the trial took on a new dimension Monday when former National Security Adviser John Bolton, a key figure in the impeachment inquiry, expressed a willingness to testify if subpoenaed. Bolton previously refused to be deposed as part of the House impeachment inquiry. [Politico / Andrew Desiderio and Kyle Cheney]
Despite Bolton’s statement, potential Republican defectors Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney appeared to fall in line earlier this week and voiced their support for impeachment rules mirroring the Clinton trial. [Vox / Sean Collins]
Some Senate Republicans, impatient with the delay, have suggested Senate rules should be changed so the trial can begin without articles of impeachment being sent to the Senate. [Axios / Ursula Perano]

A coalition government, if you can keep it

After two national elections last year, Spain finally has a functioning government, led by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. [Washington Post / Pamela Rolfe and Chico Harlan]
Sánchez previously led a caretaker government until a narrow left-wing coalition could be cobbled together. It’s the first such coalition government in Spain’s modern era. [NYT / Raphael Minder]
The coalition between the Socialist party and the left-wing Podemos still represents a fragile minority, however. Its future will rely on support from smaller parties in parliament. [WSJ / Giovanni Legorano]
Catalonian separatism could pose a problem for the new government. Sánchez promised a resolution to the region’s push for independence in exchange for Catalan MPs abstaining from the vote to form a new government. [BBC]

Miscellaneous

In Florida, a partisan divide on felon reenfranchisement could have consequences for the 2020 election. [NPR / Daniel Rivero]
Despite severe bushfires, the Australian government can’t kick its coal habit. [Vox / Umair Irfan]
Improvements in treating lung cancer are driving the falling cancer death rate. [Washington Post / Laurie McGinley]
AI-powered bots are getting smarter, and the internet isn’t ready. [Atlantic / Bruce Schneier]
Could complaining actually be ... good for us? [NYT / Micaela Marini Higgs]

Verbatim

“While Facebook may not be nicotine I think it is probably like sugar. Sugar is delicious and for most of us there is a special place for it in our lives. But like all things it benefits from moderation.” [Facebook executive Andrew Bosworth in an internal memo / Recode]