Impeachment complicates the early days of Biden's presidency

President-elect Joe Biden alrey faces daunting task of steering a newly anunced $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill through a closely divided Congress as pandemic and its ecomic fallout grow. w Biden will have to do it with President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial beginning potentially as soon as his first day in office.  confluence of events amounts to one of most politically and logistically complicated openings to a new ministration in modern history, requiring Biden to try to move country into a post-Trump era even as senators debate Trump's most divisive acts.

“It’s going to be incredibly challenging,” said former Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor, a Democrat. “re's only so much bandwidth in Congress.” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who will have a significant role to play in ushering Biden’s nda through Senate as chair of Budget Committee, underscored how much is on Democrats' plate during Biden's first few months in office.

“We don’t have time to spend an ermous amount of time on impeachment, and n we’re going to go to Biden’s minees and n we have to deal with legislation,” independent senator said. “We’re going to have to move simultaneously in a whole bunch of areas.”

Biden has so far stayed largely out of public deliberations over Trump's impeachment for inciting a riot. After House vote, Biden was forceful in deuncing violent attack on Capitol that precipitated impeachment charge, but he also said he’d work as president to ensure Americans “stand toger as a nation” — and called on Senate to “find a way to deal with ir constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on or urgent business of this nation.”

His hands-off approach to matter is in keeping with his stance throughout campaign and into his transition, even as Trump’s ever-growing controversies have overwhelmed news cycle.

Biden took his time in endorsing first impeachment of Trump in 2019, only expressing support for move weeks after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi launched formal effort. Deces before, when Richard Nixon was impeached, Biden cautioned his Senate colleagues to consider weight of moment and give Nixon a fair trial.

Democrats on Capitol Hill say y largely want to see Biden continue his even-keeled approach and focus on his nda, rar than on impeachment, once he enters office.

“President-elect Biden has a big job. So let him do his job — and let Senate do ir work,” said California Rep. Barbara Lee, a Democrat.

But once proceedings start, it’s certain to be tougher for Biden to completely avoid m, with trial dominating news cycle and forcing his former opponent back into spotlight, even as Biden tries to stay focused on coronavirus pandemic.

And re’s prospect y could furr exacerbate alrey fraught atmosphere on Capitol Hill, politicizing Biden’s nda and making it tougher for him to get support from winnable Republican senators.

“Trump’s most fervent supporters are going to have an opportunity to attack Democrats, t for ir programs and t for ir ideas, but as evil caricature that y have come to portray m,” said Jeffrey Engel, director of Center for Presidential History at Sourn Methodist University. “People who were potentially gettable as votes for some of Biden’s legislative nda are going to be much more hesitant to go along with Democratic plans while Democrats are openly being vilified.”

Biden was kwn as a dealmaker in Senate and has long relationships with many Republican senators after his 36-year career re. He's also been in touch with leership of both parties during transition. But as Virginia Sen. Mark Warner points out, re's risk that impeachment poisons well for Biden with those senators who don't kw him well.

“At least half Republican caucus has never served with Joe Biden,” said Warner, a Democrat. “His ability to navigate with those new members, if ir first impression is driven by what could end up being decided on partisan lines, that’s going to make his job more difficult.”

For w, Biden is staying focused on his nda. On Thursday, in anuncing his COVID-19 relief pack, he emphasized that he hopes to work with lawmakers from both parties and expressed optimism that despite $1.9 trillion price tag, “we’re rey to get this done.” “I kw what I just described does t come cheaply, but we simply can’t afford t to do what I’m proposing,” Biden said.

And Democrats on Capitol Hill are barreling ahe as well, refusing to accept prospect that impeachment will deter m from ir legislative goals. “What Senate is going to have to do is show world that it can walk and chew gum at same time,” Sanders said.