The Biden administration says it wants to open a new chapter in US politics and focus on its own policy program following the end of former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
Mr Biden, who was at the Camp David presidential retreat when the Senate voted on Saturday to acquit Mr Trump, had acknowledged that Democrats needed to hold the former president responsible for the siege of the US Capitol but did not welcome the way it distracted from his agenda.
The trial ended with every Democrat and seven Republicans voting to convict Mr Trump, but the 57-43 vote was far from the two-third threshold required for conviction.
In a statement, Mr Biden referenced those GOP votes in favour of convicting the former president – and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s own indictment of Mr Trump’s actions – as evidence that “the substance of the charge,” that Mr Trump was responsible for inciting violence at the Capitol, is “not in dispute”.
But he quickly moved on to the work ahead, sounding a note of unity and declaring that “this sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile” and that “each of us has a duty and responsibility as Americans, and especially as leaders, to defend the truth and to defeat the lies”.
“It’s a task we must undertake together. As the United States of America,” Mr Biden said.
White House aides had worried that a lengthy proceeding could bog down the Senate and slow the passage of Mr Biden’s massive COVID-19 relief bill. That $1.9 trillion proposal is just the first part of a sweeping legislative agenda Mr Biden hopes to pass as he battles the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 480,000 Americans and rattled the nation’s economy.
The end of the impeachment trial frees the party to focus on less divisive and more broadly popular issues and policies, like the coronavirus relief package, which polls show has significant support among Americans.
White House legislative affairs staffers were poised to work with House committees on crafting details of the COVID-19 relief bill, which Democrats hope to vote on next month.
Mr Biden is likely to continue to face questions about how his Justice Department will handle a number of ongoing federal and criminal probes into Mr Trump’s businesses and his conduct as president.
His aides will be watching for Mr Trump’s next moves, particularly if he claims exoneration and heats up his political activity and even points toward a 2024 campaign. The plan, for now, is to try to ignore the former president.
