WASHINGTON — This week, as the House and Senate are out for holiday recess, President Donald Trump has criticized Speaker Nancy Pelosi repeatedly for not sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate, saying her actions are all a part of an “Impeachment Hoax!”

For now, there is still uncertainty around how the Senate trial could look, or even whether it will happen at all. 

MORE IMPEACHMENT NEWS:

Republicans lawmakers claim Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is open to calling new witnesses for the impeachment trial into President Trump. 

That’s a request by Senate Democrats, which isn’t likely to be granted, due to McConnell’s initial rejection, but still remains a possibility as the two top Senators clash over what they believe is right for the next step in impeachment.

The two articles of impeachment still live in the House and only when Speaker Pelosi decides to call up the resolution for a vote, will the two articles pass on through to the Senate, something GOP Senators and the president are not happy about.

Pelosi said she wants to see if there will be what she is calling a “fair trial” before she allows the Senate to take over. If the articles continue to live in the House, the president will stay in a sort-of limbo and never be acquitted from his two charges. 

If impeachment moves forward, Republicans believe their vote will be joined by at least one Democrat, resulting in a bipartisan vote, much like in the House. 

Some California Democrats, like Congresswoman Judy Chu of Pasadena, said while they believe there is blatant evidence against the president, that they understand why some Democrats may vote against impeachment. 

“I understand totally why those Democrats did it,” said Chu. “If they have to listen to their district, so people do what they have to do.”

Democrat Representative Brad Sherman of Sherman Oaks said he applauds Democrats who voted for impeachment because he believes they are doing what is right, rather than what will save their reelection. 

“Very unlikely that [the Senate is] going to hold witnesses and develop more information. They’ll hear arguments, but we already have indications from more than 40 senators that they’re not going to vote yes no matter what. But you can’t fail to do your constitutional duty because you think it will cost you one percent of the polls.”

Sherman represents part of Southern California where several Democrats barely flipped their seats in the last elections. Therefore, some of their districts still have a large Republican population that could flip back in the next elections. These at-risk Democrats could be impacted greatly by how they voted in impeachment. 

The Senate trial was expected to start as early as January 6, but there’s no set date.