As a legislative body, the Senate operates under Article VI of the Constitution and its own Rules of the Senate ... The Senate “shall have the sole power to try and decide” impeachment cases.
But twice a week, the House and Senate have to return for short “pro forma” sessions -- which means some unfortunate lawmaker must come back to Capitol Hill to wield the gavel.
A careful drawing of the ...Nate Silver contemplated the ramifications of this possibility in 2009, creating a design that might leave the balance at six senators for Republicans and four for Democrats.