That's never happened in our nation's history. Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday that Democrats are learning the same lesson the GOP did in 1999: Impeachment proceedings can actually be a boon to the sitting president. And he joins us from Capitol Hill. Senators spoke on the chamber floor about how they plan to vote on the articles of impeachment against President Trump. How three prior pandemics triggered massive societal shifts, Read Dusty Johnson votes no on impeachment, calls for more 'productivity' in House, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The White House is saying that they believe the Democrats are the ones who are going to end up being most damaged by this impeachment process, because they brought something up that was a hoax in the first place and then it failed. Oct 01 I just don't think, at this point — it's kind of a discussion that is past us. South Dakota's U.S. Sen. John Thune, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, says the Senate will fulfill its constitutional responsibility in the impeachment process. U.S. Sen. John Thune, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, says the Senate will fulfill its constitutional responsibility in the impeachment process. But I think, at this point, we are going to have an act — an opportunity to act on impeachment, on removal tomorrow. The first Trump-Biden debate was unruly.

Please check your inbox to confirm. Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) But I think, in this case, the question before the Senate is whether or not it constitutes grounds to remove him from office. I do know that I was a member of the House when President Clinton was impeached, and that, through that process, his numbers went up and ours went down. Subscribe to ‘Here's the Deal,’ our politics newsletter. He will be acquitted. I mean, I think there is a real concern out there that the behavior of the president, the conduct by the president obviously isn't what some of our members would condone, but, at the same time, it didn't reach that threshold that would allow him to be, you know, removed from office.

And it seems like, in this case, that if you're just looking at the raw politics of it, I think the president — a lot of people around the country think that this was an extreme measure and don't think it was fair, don't think he was treated fairly or given due process. The president will be speaking before the joint session of Congress. https://images.c-span.org/Files/67f/20200109175844002_hd.jpg, © 2020 National Cable Satellite Corporation. : I don't think that's true at all, Judy. The first Trump-Biden debate was unruly.

Senator Thune, thank you very much for being here.

The Democrats’ partisan efforts to rush the process in the House shows this is all just a …

Well, and I think you heard a number of our members on our side articulate that point of view. "When the Senate ultimately decides to bring the trial to an end, for the sake of the American people, I hope we can move on with the agenda they elected us to pursue," Thune said. And so there is plenty — there is a body of evidence out there. https://www.c-span.org/video/?467949-4/senator-thune-impeachment First up, Senator John Thune of South Dakota. I don't think it will be. Oct 01 This is a political process. So I'm hoping it will be an optimistic message, a message that is visionary, hopeful, strong, and obviously talk as well about the important national security priorities that we need to address as we live in a dangerous world. The — I think they had a opportunity to make their case. And now it's up to senators to decide.

U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) And I think that is a very high bar, intentionally high, by the founders to make it a very extreme remedy to be used in very extreme circumstances. today discussed the rushed impeachment process House Democrats conducted and Speaker Pelosi’s refusal to send the articles of impeachment over to the Senate in a timely manner. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who is the second-highest ranking Republican in the Senate, joins Judy Woodruff to discuss why he feels the trial was thorough and what its political impact might be. Trump became the third president in U.S. history to be impeached by the U.S. House on Wednesday night and now faces a trial in the Senate. President Trump and first lady test positive for COVID-19, Watch I think the politics of it will play out over the course of the next several months. I think that will probably be the final say in this.

On Tuesday, senators took turns processing two weeks’ worth of arguments in the impeachment trial of President Trump, with each speaking in preparation for the Senate vote to acquit or convict on Wednesday. And they say the president has been helped by this entire process. And I think there has been some definite negative impact, adverse impact on the Democrats as a result of it.

Trump in ‘quarantine process’ after top aide gets COVID-19. And I think there are some very serious consequences that members have to think through when you contemplate the idea that this would be the first time ever that a president would be removed from office. "When the sun comes up tomorrow, I pray with all my heart that the anger and the division in this chamber will give way to an honorableness and a productivity and a time of working together," Johnson said.

Several months from now, people will be thinking about other issues, focused on other things. Top Trump aide Hope Hicks tests positive for coronavirus, WATCH: Trump, Biden appeal to Catholics at virtual charity dinner, Democrats press ahead on partisan COVID-19 bill as talks drag, WATCH: Schumer slams GOP senators in vote to protect ACA, WATCH: House Minority Leader McCarthy slams Pelosi on COVID-19 relief, Russia’s Navalny accuses Putin of being behind his poisoning, Push to bring coronavirus vaccines to those in poverty faces trouble, Report finds flaws in Catholic Church abuse-prevention plans, Many pregnant people aren’t getting flu shots, but these bills could help. Well, I hope that he tries to move past the current unpleasantness and really focus on the future. Trump impeached on abuse of power, obstruction. How do you answer that? Well, at this point, it does appear there will not be the votes to convict the president. I don't — I can't speak for individual members, can have the opportunity, obviously, to make their statements and to propose solutions that fit their, I guess, desired outcome. Thune voted in favor of three of the four articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton. on Tuesday said it was "inappropriate" for President Trump to compare the House impeachment inquiry to lynching.

Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. I think you heard that from people like Lamar Alexander, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and others as well, who basically are of the view that, although they don't agree with what the president did, don't think it was appropriate, they don't see it as the grounds to remove him from office, and all the disruption and convulsive impact that would have on our society, our culture, and everything else. Dusty Johnson votes no on impeachment, calls for more 'productivity' in House, Thune stood next to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday as McConnell told reporters, "I'm not an impartial juror. I think that there are many things the president does that I don't agree with. But I think that, you know, what he needs to do tonight is, in a very optimistic way, a very hopeful way, talk about what he wants to do to build on that and to really take that foundation and use it as a springboard for the future. For more on tomorrow's vote on acquittal or conviction, we are joined now by two senators from different parties. At her weekly news conference, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reiterated she would not send over articles of impeachment to the Senate until she “sees…, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R_KY) implied that the Senate would begin working on other business if the House did…, Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Deb Stabenow (D-MI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR)….

During the impeachment debate in the House on Wednesday, Johnson said he would vote against the two articles of impeachment because it's not in the best interest of the country and it has deepened the partisan divide.

And I think the opportunity for both sides to be able to be heard was there in the Senate. Read How some older Americans are monetizing their #VanLife, Read "That's not appropriate in any context But it seems to me at least that, if that was an option, that was something that probably should have been rolled out much earlier. Watch Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. "Impeachment is — or should be — an extremely rare and consequential tool for Congress to use," Thune told the Argus Leader. All I know is from experience.

Oct 01 He said the Senate will hold a fair trial. Trump will have "a fair and equal opportunity" to participate in a Senate impeachment trial, which Thune said has been absent during the impeachment process thus far. If you look at the impeachment process that the Senate just went through, we heard almost 70 hours of testimony or responses to questions from the House managers and from the president's counsel, heard testimony from 13 witnesses, 193 video clips, and about 28,000 pages of documentation and evidence that was entered into the record. And there are some at least, I would say, very preliminary discussion about that.

And as a result of that, it seems at least that he has gained a little bit, if you will, politically.

Well, tonight is the State of the Union address. Senator John Thune is not quick to criticize President Donald Trump or other Republican leaders, but that doesn't mean he always agrees with their policies. He is the second highest ranking Republican in the Senate.

We just heard in Lisa's reporting that some Democratic senators are saying, the Republicans want to hide the truth from the American people. When we went through this in 1999, that was certainly — certainly the effect.

So far, they’ve failed to make a legitimate claim," Rounds said. Senator Manchin, I think, mentioned that today in his remarks. And this will probably be something that, by that point, may be a distant memory. Thank you. Oct 02 Javascript must be enabled in order to access C-SPAN videos. More: Rep. Dusty Johnson voted no on both articles of impeachment on Wednesday night. © 1996 - 2020 NewsHour Productions LLC.

U.S. Rep. And I think he has a really pretty strong record to talk about when it comes to the economy, with respect to unemployment, wages, growth, and many of his policies, whether it's tax policy, regulatory policy, health care, energy, trade, have put us in a situation where people are seeing their standard of living improve. All Rights Reserved. I think, once you have gone down the road to try and literally throw a president out of office, coming back and saying, well, let's censure him seems like probably at this point not something that would enjoy much support. The House charged Trump with two articles of impeachment, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, over his request to Ukraine to investigate his political rival, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday night.

I think it's important for him to talk about not only the things that he has done and where we are, but also where we're going. Oct 01 They announced repeatedly during the course of these proceedings that the evidence they had was overwhelming, and I think — and also used other words like undisputed. Is American civil discourse dead?