After revolt over junk food, Senate Democrats get healthy choices at Trump impeachment trial

WASHINGTON — During the short Senate dinner break at the Trump impeachment trial Wednesday night, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., provided the meal for his side of the aisle — takeout from Roti served buffet-style in the Democratic cloakroom.

Different senators will host each impeachment night. When Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., takes her turn to provide dinner, the Bangkok-born senator told me she is going to serve Thai takeout.

Before you ask, the answer is these meals are not at the taxpayers’ expense.

Democratic Senate Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., “the first night took the easy way and did pizza and salad,” Durbin said Thursday.

Durbin, the number two Democrat in the Senate, took the suggestion of two staffers to do Mediterranean, and his staff put in an order for 50.

“It was a big hit. People loved it because it was healthy. And so, you know, I had more compliments. With healthy choices, “People liked it a lot. So whoever has it tonight has a tough act to follow,” Durbin said.

The takeout order included chopped chicken and steak; falafel; hummus; pita bread; couscous salad; rice. The dinner in-a-bowl was designed to accommodate vegans, vegetarians and others with dietary restrictions.

Duckworth said the road food snacks on Tuesday were “really terrible, it was all junk food, stuff like candy bars,” with so little fruit that Duckworth shared a banana.

“And we all sort of revolted … . So yesterday was very healthy,” she said.

Meanwhile, in the Republican cloakroom

Dinner is also available each night in the GOP cloakroom. During the Thursday 30-minute food break, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told me “Tonight is Carmine’s” the Italian restaurant chain. The supper hosts so far have mostly been the Republican Senate leaders.

The first night was pizza.

The GOP Senators also had a meal from Qdoba Mexican Eats. Snacks include crackers and tangerines.

The disappearing senators

There are two cloakrooms — one for Republicans and one for Democrats — and if you see senators disappearing while watching the Senate trial on TV, many of them head to the cloakrooms.

Strict Senate impeachment trial rules call for all senators to be present in their seats with all electronic devices banned. While a few senators may be wearing less obvious Apple watches, the rule is to check iPhones, iPads and the like on shelves provided for the senators in the cloakrooms.

You don’t see the empty seats on TV because the Senate controls the camera — not journalists. Reporters also cannot take into the press section of the Senate gallery any electronic devices, laptops or cameras.

My reporter colleagues have been noting that during these very long trial days, at times, many of the seats — I think the high was 21 on Thursday — are empty. While some senators have left the chamber — and have been scolded in press reports — you should know that the cloakrooms have TVs so the senators can watch while snacking, checking emails or attending to other matters.

Not excusing; just explaining.

Democratic managers wield TV clips, charts.

The Democratic managers have the challenge of making the case against Trump while keeping it simple and interesting enough to follow so that the Senators and the viewing public remain engaged.

Democrats have put together well-produced presentations when it comes to effectively meshing video clips and charts to what is amounting to monologues by each presenter.

Impeachment manager Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., wielded a clip of then-Rep. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., when he was one of the impeachment mangers at President Bill Clinton’s 1999 impeachment trial. Now a senator, Graham is an ardent defender of Trump and one of his most outspoken advocates.

The Jan. 16, 1999, clip was of Graham arguing that Clinton should be convicted of obstruction of justice even if he has not been charged with a crime.

A central Trump defense is his impeachment is invalid because he was not accused of a specific crime when the House voted two articles of impeachment against him, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Said Graham in 1999, “It doesn’t even have to be a crime. It’s just when you start using your office and you’re acting in a way that hurts people, you’ve committed a high crime.”