Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced on Friday that the Senate impeachment trial of Trump will begin the week of Feb. 8.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) plans to send the article of impeachment to the Senate on Monday. Trump faces a charge of “incitement of insurrection” for his role in instigating the deadly mob attack on the Capitol Jan. 6.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had proposed delaying the start of the trial into mid-February, allowing Trump time to recruit a defense team and assemble arguments against conviction.

President Biden on Friday signaled that he supported a delay, saying, “the more time we have to get up and running to meet these crises, the better.”

The Democrats are taking control of the Senate as an impeachment trial, cabinet nominations and an ambitious Biden agenda are all on the table. (The Washington Post)

Some rank-and-file Democrats also expressed alarm at putting Biden’s agenda on hold to conduct a trial of Trump.

“I want to focus as much attention right now on the Biden agenda as possible, and minimize the attention on anything other than the Biden agenda,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). Kaine is part of a small group of Democrats pushing an idea of passing a resolution stating that Trump violated the 14th Amendment — which forbids federal officials from ever holding office if they “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the government — and ban him from running again for president in that manner.

Negotiations over the trial’s length and format are expected to continue through the weekend, according to Senate aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.

Pelosi said in a statement that she was “attentive to the fairness of the process” and noted that Trump “will have had the same amount of time to prepare for trial as our managers.”

Announcing on Friday the decision to transmit the article, Schumer said he and McConnell continued to discuss the “timing and duration” of the trial.

“But make no mistake, a trial will be held in the United States Senate, and there will be a vote on whether to convict the president,” he said, adding: “It will be a full trial; it will be a fair trial.”

But McConnell and other Republican senators warned that rushing into the trial after the rapid House impeachment vote — which took place one week after the Capitol riot, with no evidentiary hearings or opportunity for Trump to mount a defense — would taint the process.

“Senate Republicans strongly believe we need a full and fair process where the former president can mount a defense and the Senate can properly consider the factual, legal and constitutional questions at stake,” McConnell said Friday.

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), a key Trump ally, told reporters it would be “ridiculous” for Democrats not to agree to at least some delay, noting that Trump only retained the first member of his defense team — South Carolina lawyer Butch Bowers — on Thursday.

“If the trial starts right away, that would be an affront to everything every American claims to hold near and dear,” Graham said. “You get a chance to defend yourself.”

Schumer and Senate Democrats are balancing their aim of proceeding with Trump’s trial with Biden’s desire to fill out his Cabinet and move forward on a pandemic relief bill that he is hoping to push through Congress in the coming weeks. Democrats, including Biden, had floated the possibility that the Senate could come to an agreement to do both simultaneously, but that would require unanimous agreement from Republicans, who appeared increasingly uninterested in a split schedule.

“Once we take the trial up, we have to do the trial,” Graham said. “If you want to impeach the president, we’re going to do it like we’ve always done it. We’re not going to split the day. . . . That’s the business of the Senate once we go into it.”

Though senators of both parties have suggested this trial could be shorter than Trump’s first trial, which wrapped up in February after 21 days, there are no guarantees of such brevity. The House managers or Trump’s lawyers, for instance, could seek to call witnesses and present evidence, extending the proceedings indefinitely.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the No. 3 GOP leader, said that once the trial begins, “the opportunity for President Biden to get a Cabinet in place is done until impeachment is done.”

“This basically stops President Biden in his tracks at a time when a number of Republicans believe that President Biden ought to be able to put a Cabinet in place,” he said.

The Senate confirmed Avril Haines as director of national intelligence on Wednesday and confirmed Lloyd Austin as defense secretary on Friday. Nominees to lead the departments of State, Homeland Security, Transportation and the Treasury have undergone hearings and could be brought to a floor vote if all 100 senators consent.

As Senate leaders sparred over the timing and structure of the trial, more Senate Republicans signaled Friday that they are uncomfortable with holding a trial for an ex-president.

Under the Constitution, Trump could suffer “disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States,” and the House impeachment article charging “incitement of insurrection” seeks to do that.

Graham and others have urged colleagues to reject the notion that an ex-president can be tried after leaving office, leaving moot the implications of his conduct — which includes spreading baseless claims that Biden lost the November election, urging his vice president to reject duly cast electoral college votes, summoning his supporters to rally in Washington as Congress finalized Biden’s win and ordering them that day to march to the Capitol.

Schumer sought to rebut that argument Friday on the Senate floor: “It makes no sense whatsoever that a president or any official could commit a heinous crime against our country, and then be permitted to resign, so as to avoid accountability and a vote to disbar them from future office,” he said.

Other GOP senators in recent days have aired misgivings about the process, signaling that they are disinclined to support a conviction — which will require 17 Republicans to join all 50 Democrats and independents who caucus with Democrats.

“We kind of have an inkling of what the outcome is going to be,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.). “I mean, Democrats this time didn’t even bother to go through the motions of getting sworn testimony and having hearings in the House. This is not a serious effort. It is a serious issue, but it’s not a serious effort to comply with the requirements of due process of the Constitution when it comes to impeachment.”

Paul Kane contributed to this report.