House Democrats and President Trump will each get 24 hours to make their case during the impeachment trial that starts Tuesday, according to the proposed rules from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

House Democrats and President Trump will each get 24 hours to make their case during the impeachment trial that starts Tuesday, according to the proposed rules from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The 24 hours is the same amount of time that President Bill Clinton was given in 1999, but the arguments would be condensed into two days instead of the three in Mr. Clinton’s impeachment trial.
That suggests the arguments could make for long, 12-hour days stretching past midnight. The trial has been scheduled to start at 1 p.m. each day.
After the arguments from both sides, senators will have 16 hours to submit written questions through Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who will pose the questions to each side.
A vote on whether or not to call witnesses will come after the senators submit the questions. A simple majority of 51 votes is required, with Republicans holding 53 seats.
Senators are expected to vote on the proposed rules Tuesday afternoon. It is expected Democrats will reject some of the proposals, as they have demanded more witness testimony for weeks.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said the proposed rules circulated by Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, are a “national disgrace.”
“Sen. McConnell’s resolution stipulates that key facts be delivered in the wee hours of the night simply because he doesn’t want the American people to hear them. Any senator that votes for the McConnell resolution will be voting to hide information and evidence from the American people,” Mr. Schumer said.
“As soon as Sen. McConnell offers this resolution, I will be offering amendments to address the many flaws in this deeply unfair proposal and to subpoena the witnesses and documents we have requested,” he added.
A House Democratic aide working on impeachment told reporters Monday it would be a shame to obscure Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial by holding overnight arguments.
The aide said Senate Republicans are trying to condense arguments to 12-hour days so they can conceal the president’s conduct “in the dark of night and prevent the American people from actually being able to see and hear all of the evidence” or get the trial wrapped up before the State of the Union address scheduled for Feb. 4.
“Both of those reasons are complete shams. It undermines any sense of what a fair and just trial would be, and it is a disservice and discredit not only the Senate but to the American people,” the aide said.
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