‘It’s so unfair’

President Donald Trump on Saturday criticised House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi for holding off on sending the articles of impeachment against him to the Senate.

"It's so unfair," Trump said, days after he was impeached by the House, during a speech to conservative student group Turning Point USA, saying that Pelosi adopted the strategy because she has "no case."

"They are violating the Constitution," Trump said, calling Pelosi "crazy Nancy."

The Democratic-controlled House voted on Dec 18 to impeach Trump, setting the stage for a trial in the Senate. Trump is very unlikely to be convicted and removed from office by the upper chamber of Congress because it is controlled by his Republican Party. A two-thirds majority vote in the Senate is needed for a conviction on impeachment charges.

Republicans and Democrats are at loggerheads over how the trial will play out. Pelosi and other Democrats want to call top Trump aides as witnesses and are seeking assurances that the trial will be held on terms they consider fair.

Pelosi has not yet sent the impeachment package to the Senate in a bid to increase pressure on Republicans there. Pelosi has also not yet announced the managers, or prosecutors, who will present evidence in the trial.