The trial of Donald Trump for “inciting the insurrection” in the Capitol is likely to start as early as next week. If the latest reports from Washington are any indication, the House of Representatives will advance its article of impeachment to the Senate on Monday.

The formality will signal the start of a trial, almost unprecedented in American history, according to a statement by Chuck Schumer on Friday. As the majority leader, he said the decision had been “relayed” by the Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Perhaps in accord with legal certitudes, details of how the trial would run were not disclosed.

These certitudes also envisage that once the “article of impeachment” reaches the Senate, the chamber must almost immediately be transformed into a court of impeachment and sit in judgment until a verdict is reached. This must rank as a classic instance of the conjunction between the legislature and the judiciary and in the best traditions of a functioning democracy.

For the past few days, negotiations have been held between Schumer and Senator Mitch McConnell, his Republican counterpart, over further parameters for the trial of the former President. Democrats are trying to set a dual track to enable the Senate to confirm President Biden’s cabinet nominees before the trial gets underway each day. Pelosi’s decision to set the process in motion on Monday has served to rebuff a request McConnell had made to delay the trial to enable Trump’s newly appointed legal team to prepare the groundwork. Indeed, he never wanted what he called the “heart of the trial” to begin until the middle of February.

Democrats, involved in the planning, have indicated that they are not wholly averse to granting Trump’s team some time. This is in keeping with the best traditions of an unbiased judiciary. Notably, the Senate has not proceeded from conclusion to premise.

A particularly striking development over the weekend, albeit unrelated to Trump’s trial, was the Senate confirmation of Lloyd J. Austin who becomes the nation’s first black Secretary of Defence.

He rose to the army’s elite ranks and marched through racial impediments in a career spanning 41 years. Austin’s confirmation can be coupled with the confirmation of Avril Haines as the first woman who will serve as Director of National Intelligence. President Biden is expected to secure approval for others as well, pre-eminently that of Antony Blinken as Secretary of State.

Biden is looking forward to stability in the Pentagon, which bears witness to two Secretaries of Defence, confirmed by the Senate, and four others who held the post on an interim basis under Donald Trump. Austin’s confirmation was complicated by his status as a recently retired general.

He required a waiver of a legal prohibition of a military officer serving as Secretary of Defence within seven years of his retirement. The nitty-gritty has been cleared. Round One to Joe Biden.