As the Senate began impeachment proceedings today, RNLA Co-Chair Harmeet Dhillon described how House impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff's actions as de facto prosecutor in the House would result in sanctions and likely disbarment if engaged in by a prosecutor in court:

Senate Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy had strong and swift reactions to Speaker Pelosi finally sending over the articles of impeachment. 

On the delay, Leader McCarthy said:

Instead of sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial, Speaker Pelosi held them hostage in a failed play to gain leverage that she did not — and would never — have…

…these delay tactics were self-serving, hypocritical, and discrediting. But they made an important admission. Some might even call it a concession: Democrats did not believe their case was robust enough to win in trial…

… the idea of withholding a sloppy impeachment case to force the Senate to change its rules is constitutionally and politically unheard of. Frankly, it’s ridiculous…

In Congress, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell continues to be a leader following the longstanding bipartisan tradition of the Senate. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continue to play partisan games.  The most recent example unfolded yesterday regarding the situation in the Middle East.

Leader McConnell said yesterday on the Iranian situation:

‘I spoke yesterday about President Trump’s decision to remove the chief architect of Tehran’s terrorism from the battlefield. And I discussed the Senate’s obligation to approach this in a manner that is serious, sober, and factual.

It is right for senators to want to learn more about the president’s major decision. Once again, I encourage all our colleagues to attend the classified briefing which the administration will provide tomorrow.

‘The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the CIA Director will give classified context behind the president’s decision. And they will discuss the administration’s strategy to protect our personnel and defend our nation’s interests in the new landscape.

Today, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reiterated that he will not let the House Democrats dictate the Senate's impeachment trial procedures:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, speaking from the chamber’s floor Friday, rejected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s efforts to shape a pending impeachment trial as “fantasy”—leaving the process at a standstill as lawmakers return from the holiday recess.

“Their turn is over. They’ve done enough damage. It’s the Senate’s turn now to render sober judgment,” McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor. . . .

Today, Ed Whelan posted the four big questions in judicial confirmations for 2020 and answers to the four big questions he posed at the beginning of 2019. The first big question is whether a new Supreme Court vacancy will arise.

Although one did not in 2019, he notes that a nominee for a vacancy that arise this year would likely be confirmed "notwithstanding the ruckus the Left will raise." Looking ahead to 2020, he also asks:

We continue our Top 10 Blog posts for 2019.  Numbers 6-10 are here.  

5. February 7: SENATE JUDICIARY ADVANCES AG NOMINEE BARR AND 44 JUDICIAL NOMINEES

Senate Judiciary Dems playing an awkward game of praising Bill Barr's character and competence while saying why they're voting against him, which boils down to Pres. Trump, with some background of unitary executive theory.

While House Democrats have spent 2019 focused on attacking the President and a slipshod impeachment, President Trump and the United States Senate have focused on remaking the judiciary.  As the Washington Post reports:

Trump nominees make up 1 in 4 U.S. circuit court judges. Two of his picks sit on the Supreme Court. And this past week, as the House voted to impeach the president, the Republican-led Senate confirmed an additional 13 district court judges.

The 13 circuit courts are the second most powerful in the nation, serving as a last stop for appeals on lower court rulings, unless the case is taken up by the Supreme Court. So far, Trump has appointed 50 judges to circuit court benches. Comparatively, by this point in President Obama’s first term, he had confirmed 25. At the end of his eight years, he had appointed 55 circuit judges.

It is becoming apparent that the impeachment was done with no respect for the rule of law or even the political process.  On the first point, RNLA Vice President for Communications Audrey Perry Martin writes:

While an impeachment proceeding is not a court of law, these fundamental concepts of due process and fairness need to be respected for Americans to have any confidence in the integrity of the proceeding.

In their rush to impeach President Trump, House Democrats turned back the clock and embraced the non-existent due process protections of medieval courts.

As House Democrats irresponsibly hurdle toward impeachment tomorrow, the Senate led by Mitch McConnell is going to do it's duty.  In remarks today, Senator McConnell explained what the House has done and why this impeachment is problematic both now and for the future.  

It appears that the most rushed, least thorough, and most unfair impeachment inquiry in modern history is about to wind down after just 12 weeks and that its slapdash work product will be dumped on the Senate.

‘I’ll have much more to say to our colleagues and to the American people if and when the House does move ahead. But as we speak today, House Democrats still have the opportunity to do the right thing for the country and avoid setting this toxic new precedent.

‘The House can still turn back from the cliff and not deploy this constitutional remedy of last resort to deliver a pre-determined partisan outcome.

Yesterday, President Trump celebrated the 158th judge nominated by him confirmed by the Senate. Here are some statistics: