The House is likely to vote on the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump announced Tuesday morning by the end of next week, wrapping up its part in the proceedings before the Christmas recess. The Senate, however, is unlikely to act so quickly. On both sides of the aisle there seems to be consensus to put it off.
To wit: Sen. John Cornyn, Republican from Texas, says, "That's the last thing we want to do is be here over Christmas. […] I can't imagine anyone will object. You never know for sure. It would be widely criticized by folks on both sides of the aisle, anybody who [fought it] and forced us to stay here." And California Democrat Dianne Feinstein agrees: "Impeachment is a huge issue. And I don't think we should rush into it. […] We ought to find a way to wait 'til January, get through the holidays and then tackle it. I think to take it up before Christmas, a lot of bad things can happen, you move too fast, you don’t really hear it all." Even Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky, who loves to be the contrarian, says he's not going to object.
There's one person who wants this to happen fast, however: Donald Trump. White House aides have reportedly been pushing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to do it faster. That's what CNN has been hearing, and it's what Politico has been hearing. Their source, who is "familiar" with the White House's thinking, says that it is "actively seeking" to speed the trial up and have it prior to the recess.
That's not likely to happen. For one thing, McConnell wants to screw Senate Democrats. And he can screw four of them—Michael Bennet, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, and Elizabeth Warren, along with independent Bernie Sanders—who are all running for president and need to be in Iowa and New Hampshire for the early-February contests. If he can interfere in that, he'll do it happily. It's almost certain that the Senate will delay the hearing until January.