Senators of both parties are already getting antsy over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, and on only the second day in session, Republicans and Democrats alike left their seats, walked around, grabbed their phones, and, generally, broke the strict rules governing their behavior as Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) droned on, presenting his own opening arguments in the House’s case against the president.
Left-leaning media outlets quickly noted that several GOP Senators left their seats during Schiff’s speech, suggesting, it seems, that Republicans charged with being “impartial jurors” — as Democrats have repeatedly put it — were ignoring the Democrats’ initial salvos but, it turns out, sitting still for eight hour sessions with little to do except drink water or milk (or, in Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY case, do a paper crossword puzzle with a pencil), is tough for elected leaders.
The Daily Beast also noted, however, that Democrats have left the chamber in protest.
“Immediately following the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to ignore democratic motions to subpoena Mark Judge and proceed with Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, four democratic senators walked out of the hearing room while chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IL) was speaking. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) all left the room in protest. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) then ripped into the committee’s handling of the hearing,” the Daily Beast reported Wednesday.
New York Daily News reporter Michael McAuliffe noticed “21 empty seats on the GOP side of the Senate, 2 on the Dem side, a couple hours into Schiff’s presentation. Some are just stretching their legs, but most are not in the chamber. Some of them have been out of there for a while.” Sen. Lindsey Grahan (R-SC) was the most noticeable absence, McAuliffe said, but he “scooted” back before Schiff began speaking about Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky.
CNN reported that “[a]t various points, Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Tim Scott of South Carolina, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina were standing on the GOP side of the chamber, while Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Gary Peters of Michigan and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut could be seen standing on the Democratic side,” chatting while Schiff presented his case.
“As the evening wore on, the corner of the chamber became a popular spot on both sides for lawmakers to congregate, pace and hold quiet conversations. Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York huddled in the corner at one point, while Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who’s running for the Democratic presidential nomination, was spotted pacing back and forth,” the outlet continued.
Senators are banned from drinking, eating, talking, and using their phones while on the Senate floor, while the impeachment trial is in session but there are loopholes. Senators can gather in the corners of the chamber to chat or watch the proceedings together, and can escape to the Senate cloakrooms, which, Senators report, both parties have stocked with snacks.
“It must have been a Costco dump in our cloakroom … everything was there,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) told CNN.