Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated that the Senate impeachment trial should take place after Trump leaves office.

The Senate impeachment process will begin "at our first regular meeting following receipt of the article from the House," McConnell wrote in a new statement, saying he believes it would be best for the country to have an orderly transfer of power completed before a trial begins.

The Senate is currently scheduled to return to Washington on Tuesday, making that the earliest day for any Senate action related to the trial to occur -- but McConnell's message to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats is for them not to send the articles until after Biden is sworn in.

McConnell has no control over when a trial begins -- that is determined by the articles sent to the Senate​​.

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has so far declined to say publicly when the House will send the article over to the Senate, a source involved in the Democratic leadership deliberations told ABC News earlier Wednesday Pelosi planned to send the article to the Senate next week.

"Even if the Senate process were to begin this week and move promptly, no final verdict would be reached until after President Trump had left office. This is not a decision I am making; it is a fact. The President-elect himself stated last week that his inauguration on January 20 is the ‘quickest’ path for any change in the occupant of the presidency," McConnell wrote.

"In light of this reality, I believe it will best serve our nation if Congress and the executive branch spend the next seven days completely focused on facilitating a safe inauguration and an orderly transfer of power to the incoming Biden Administration."

McConnell confirmed on the record earlier Wednesday that he is considering voting to convict Trump on inciting an insurrection.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

The House has voted to impeach President Trump for a historic and unprecedented second time.

Ten Republicans voted with Democrats for a final vote of 232-197.

Those Republicans were Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Jamie Herrera-Beutler of Washington, John Katko of New York, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Peter Meijer of Michigan, Dan Newhouse of Washington, Tom Rice of South Carolina, Fred Upton of Michigan and David Valadao of California.

It was the most bipartisan impeachment vote in American history.

No House Republicans voted to impeach Trump in 2019.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel

The House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Trump -- making Trump the only president in American history to be impeached twice.

Ten Republicans have sided with Democrats in the ongoing vote for impeachment with the count currently standing at 225-194.

217 votes were needed to impeach the president.

House lawmakers charged Trump with one article of impeachment for "incitement of insurrection" citing his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

While House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has declined to yet say publicly when the House will send the article over to the Senate, a source involved in the Democratic leadership deliberations told ABC News earlier Wednesday Pelosi plans to send the article to the Senate next week.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office confirmed earlier in the day that the Senate will not return early for an impeachment trial, so the earliest the trial could start is Jan. 19 -- a day before Biden's inauguration.

-ABC News' Trish Turner

Republican Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan is the seventh House Republican to announce he will vote to impeach Trump, announcing his intention in a statement posted to Twitter moments before voting got underway.

"President Trump betrayed his oath of office by seeking to undermine our constitutional process, and he bears responsibility for inciting the insurrection we suffered last week. With a heavy heart, I will vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump," he said in a tweet, attaching a longer statement.

Meijer joins Republican Reps. John Katko, N.Y., Liz Cheney, Wyo., Adam Kinzinger, Ill., Fred Upton, Mich., Jaime Herrera Beutler, Wash., and Dan Newhouse, Wash, in saying he will vote to impeach the president.

No House Republicans voted to impeach Trump in 2019.

Eric Lander is Biden's nominee for presidential science adviser, a position Biden announced Saturday he is elevating to a Cabinet-level position for the first time in U.S. history.

Lander served as the co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) during the Obama-Biden administration. He currently serves as president and the founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Landon is also one of the principal leaders of the Human Genome Project.

"It's not hyperbole to suggest that Dr. Lander's work has changed the course of human history. His role in helping us map the genome, pull back the curtain on human disease, allowing scientists ever since and for generations to come to explore the molecular basis for some of the most devastating illnesses affecting our world," Biden said.

In his remarks Saturday, Lander said, "The President-Elect knows that science and technology will be crucial in meeting this moment," adding that "America's greatest asset, I think, is our unrivaled diversity. After all, scientific progress is about seeing something that no one’s ever seen before. Because they bring a different lens, different experiences, different questions, different passions. No one can top America in that regard. But we have to ensure that everyone not only has a seat at the table, but a place at the lab bench."