Dem
51
GOP
49
Yesterday, Judge Tanya Chutkan announced that she is going to try Jan. 6 defendant Anthony Mastanduno on April 2. He is charged with civil disorder and resisting or impeding officers. The consequence of this decision is that the planned date of Trump's trial on federal charges is almost certainly going to slip from March 4 until mid-April, at the earliest. On the other hand, the trial can't start until the D.C. Court of Appeals rules on whether presidents are above the law and then the Supreme Court also rules on it. Oral hearings have already been held at the Appeals Court level and a decision is expected soon, but the Supreme Court could slow-walk the case so March 4 might not have been feasible anyway.
Another consequence of the shift is that March 4 is the day before Super Tuesday. If Trump had gone on trial the Monday before Super Tuesday, that could have reminded voters of all the criminal charges against Trump just before they voted. Now that is not going to happen.
This said, if the Supreme Court moves quickly once the Appeals Court renders its decision on presidential immunity, an April trial is still possible. Then a verdict could come before the July convention and Trump could still be a convicted felon by convention time. It is unlikely that the first appeal would be finished by the convention, but it could be done in the summer. It's unknowable what the Supreme Court would do at that point. It might decide that making such a key decision in the heat of the campaign would be a PR disaster. But it could also decide that not making a decision would also be a PR disaster. (V)