The president is en route to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, lamenting the fact that he could not have an immediate impeachment trial. He is expected to stay in Florida until the new year.
Image: Getty Images/J. Raedle
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Donald Trump headed for sunny Florida on Friday as the Senate adjourned until January, putting a stop to the US president's hopes of a speedy impeachment hearing.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, and Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer were unable to agree on procedure, resulting in a delay until the new year for the impeachment process.
As a result, Trump will get the chance to enjoy a golf holiday through the new year at his Palm Beach resort, despite the clouds swirling over his presidency in Washington.
President stymied, for now
Trump, who was due to arrive at his resort late Friday, is frustrated with the hold-up, according to Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of the president.
"He's mad as hell that they would do this to him and now deny him his day in court," Graham told Fox News after meeting with the president at the White House on Thursday night.
Just prior to boarding his plane to Florida for his Christmas break, Trump turned his ire on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's refusal, until now, to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate. He tweeted: "Nancy Pelosi is looking for a Quid Pro Quo with the Senate. Why aren't we Impeaching her?"
The US House of Representatives voted Wednesday to impeach Trump after Democrats accused him of withholding military aid while pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate his political rival Joe Biden and Biden's son Hunter for his own political gain. He is also accused of obstructing Congress by refusing to cooperate with the impeachment investigation.
Trump is still likely to be acquitted of both charges in the Senate, where Republicans have the majority, in what will be only the third presidential impeachment trial in US history.
Was that thing on? 'Hot mic' gaffes from politicians
Last week Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was caught appearing to mock US President Donald Trump at a NATO summit in London. But Trudeau's not the first to get caught out on a live mic, and he won't be the last.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Yui Mok
Ronald Reagan
At the Cold War's apex, US President Ronald Reagan got in hot water after he joked with sound engineers who were recording him for public radio. "My fellow Americans," he said. "I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." The comments weren't meant to be taken seriously, but Soviet forces were less than amused.
Image: AP
Obama and Sarkozy
An open mic moment caught out French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President Barack Obama at the G-20 summit in 2011. The pair was discussing their relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr Sarkozy said: "I can't stand him any more, he's a liar." Obama said his opposite number should count himself lucky. "You may be sick of him, but me, I have to deal with him every day."
Image: picture alliance/dpa/epa Yonhap
Bush and Blair
Much has been made of the US and Britain's relationship, but the moment that made it even more special was when a microphone caught respective leaders George W. Bush (R) and Tony Blair (L) off guard in 2006. The US president said: "Yo Blair!" before thanking the British PM for a sweater he had received from him. Bush rounded things off by cursing before Blair saw the mic and switched it off.
Image: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Gordon Brown
Though the UK has recently seen a slew of elections, they weren't always as frequent. In 2010 Brits went to the polls for the first time in five years. The standout moment of the campaign was when PM Gordon Brown (R) forgot to switch his mic off and described a member of the public, Gillian Duffy (L), whom he had just met, as a "bigoted woman." Brown later apologized but still lost the election.
Image: AP
Angela Merkel and Mark Zuckerberg
In 2015, in the midst of Europe's refugee crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel got caught during a UN luncheon confronting Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg over anti-immigrant posts. In a "hot mic" moment, Merkel was heard pressing him on Facebook's policies. "We need to do some work" on curtailing incendiary posts, he responded. "Are you working on this?" Merkel asked. Zuckerberg confirmed he was.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Jacques Chirac
According to French newspaper Liberation, French President Jacques Chirac made jokes about the British in 2005 to Russian and German leaders. While in earshot of reporters, Chirac allegedly said of the UK: "You can't trust people who cook as badly as that. After Finland, it's the country with the worst food. The only thing the British have ever done for European agriculture is mad cow disease."
Image: Reuters/P. Kovarik
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Flying high
Meanwhile, Trump also found time on Friday to sign into law a $1.4 trillion (€1.25 trillion) budget package for the fiscal year 2020, thus avoiding a government shutdown, White House spokesman Judd Deere told reporters traveling with the president on Air Force One.
Trump signed the bill en route from Washington to Florida.