Biden ‘anxious to see’ if GOP senators ‘stand up’ on impeachment vote

President Joe Biden said Friday he was "anxious to see" how Republican senators will vote in former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial, but that he had no plans to speak personally with the GOP lawmakers.

The remarks from Biden came Friday morning, just after he and first lady Jill Biden took an unannounced walk to the North Lawn of the White House, where the first lady's office had assembled a surprise Valentine's Day display overnight.

Asked about Trump's Senate trial, Biden said: "I'm just anxious to see what my Republican friends do, if they stand up."

Biden has commented only sparingly on the trial in recent days, repeatedly declining to say whether he believes his predecessor should be convicted of inciting an insurrection at the Capitol last month. His press secretary, Jen Psaki, has similarly avoided commenting on the trial at her daily press briefings.

Most recently, Biden told reporters Thursday that "some minds may be changed" after House impeachment managers showed senators previously unseen footage of the attack, which revealed how close the pro-Trump rioters came to congressional lawmakers and staff.

The House managers finished prosecuting their case against Trump on Thursday, and the former president's defense team is scheduled to begin its arguments Friday.