House Democrats move forward with impeachment. What to expect this week
House Democrats introduced an article of impeachment Monday against President Donald Trump after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol last week in a riot that left at least five people dead.
The article of impeachment for an “incitement of insurrection” was introduced by Democratic Reps. Ted Liu of California, David Cicilline of Rhode Island and Jamie Raskin of Maryland. The resolution, which has more than 200 co-sponsors, says that Trump has “demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law.”
“President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States,” the resolution states.
At least one Republican House member is expected to join the Democrats’ effort, with Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois supporting Trump’s removal from office. The earliest the House can vote on an article of impeachment is Wednesday and it’s unclear when the House would send the articles to the Senate for a trial.
GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania have called on Trump to resign. “I do think the president committed impeachable offenses,” Toomey told Fox News.
In 2020, Trump became just the third president to be impeached before he was acquitted by the U.S. Senate. No president has been impeached twice.
The resolution came as more lawmakers call on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office. The amendment allows the vice president and Cabinet members to declare a president unable to perform the duties of office, thereby stripping the president of power.
The New York Times reported that Pence doesn’t support invoking the amendment, which requires the support of a majority of Cabinet officials.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter Sunday night that if Pence refuses to invoke the amendment, Democrats will move forward with removing Trump from office with just nine days left in his term.
“In protecting our Constitution and our Democracy, we will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat to both,” Pelosi said in the letter.
On Monday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, will introduce a resolution prepared by Raskin that calls on Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, according to Pelosi.
“We are calling on the Vice President to respond within 24 hours,” Pelosi said. “Next, we will proceed with bringing impeachment legislation to the Floor.”
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, also a Democrat, was also planning to introduce two articles of impeachment against Trump on Monday. The articles include “abuse of power for attempting to overturn the election results in Georgia” and ‘incitement of violence for orchestrating an attempted coup against our country,” Omar wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
In a phone call released by The Washington Post last week, Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” needed to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
Trump has made baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud and challenged the results of the election for months. He spoke at a rally of his supporters on the National Mall as Congress convened to certify the Electoral College vote and cement Biden’s win. Pence officially affirmed Biden’s win early Thursday following a vote in Congress after the riot.
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 10:04 AM with the headline "House Democrats move forward with impeachment. What to expect this week."