Working with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the House managers, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate should agree on a compromise that suspends the trial so Congress can produce meaningful bipartisan legislation to make clear that it’s illegal, going forward, for any president to use foreign governments to meddle in U.S. elections—something President Donald Trump attempted when he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate political rival Joe Biden in exchange for foreign aid. The current laws on this subject are not crystal clear, which is a large part of the reason this process has been a colossal mess.

Such a deal would give each side a partial victory and spare the country a damaging trial that, in the end, will yield little of value.