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Klobuchar Plans To Balance Time Between Impeachment Trial And Iowa

Clay Masters
/
IPR
Sen. Amy Klobuchar speaks at an event in Des Moines' East Village on Thursday.

It’s now looking likely the five Democratic U.S. senators running for president will be tied up in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in January and they’ll be having to split their time between Washington and Iowa.

A vote of impeachment by the full House is expected by Christmas. That would presumably send it to a Senate trial in January. That’s when presidential hopefuls are spending that last campaign push in places like Iowa, which goes first with its caucuses on February 3. Speaking to Iowa Public Radio in the midst of a campaign swing here, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar says she’ll find a way to balance her time.

“I can’t control that schedule and nor am I going to try to and nor am I going to weigh in on what the schedule should be because we have to let the evidence come out as it should,” Klobuchar said. “That’s what I learned as a prosecutor.”

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker and Michael Bennett will all face the same challenge.

Sen. Klobuchar started another swing through Iowa on Thursday. Klobuchar held an event that night in Des Moines where afterwards she told IPR it frustrates her when she sees a bunch of TV ads for her wealthy competitors like Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer. 

“This isn’t to say they are not both admirable leaders. They are,” Klobuchar said. “And so my hope in these early states is that these states are going to make a decision based on what’s best for the country as a leader instead of who has the most money to run ads.”

Klobuchar says she plans to visit all of Iowa’s 99 counties before the caucuses. She also rolled out a plan Thursday aimed at helping Americans succeed in a changing economy.

Kirk Mitchell came to the Des Moines event and it made up his mind that he’s going to caucus for  Klobuchar.

“She’s straightforward in how she talks,” Mitchell said. He describes her as a moderate Democrat who “doesn’t want to give away the world.”

Clay Masters is the senior politics reporter for MPR News.