NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial will start the week of Feb. 8, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday.
Schumer made the announcement on the Senate floor Friday evening, after reaching an agreement with Republicans.
Under the timeline, the House will transmit the impeachment article against Trump late Monday, with initial proceedings Tuesday.
From there, Trump's legal team will have time to prepare the case before opening arguments begin in February.
Unlike any in history, Trump's impeachment trial would be the first of a U.S. president no longer in office, an undertaking that his Senate Republican allies argue is pointless, and potentially even unconstitutional.
Democrats say they have to hold Trump to account, even as they pursue new President Joe Biden's legislative priorities, because of the gravity of what took place — a violent attack on the U.S. Congress aimed at overturning an election.
The urgency to hold Trump responsible is somewhat complicated by Democrats' simultaneous need to get Biden's government in place and start quick work on his coronavirus aid package. The trial could halt Senate work on those priorities.
“The more time we have to get up and running ... the better,” Biden said Friday in brief comments to reporters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.