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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday the House will proceed with legislation to impeach President Donald Trump as she pushes the vice president and the Cabinet to invoke constitutional authority force him out, warning that Trump is a threat to democracy after the deadly assault on the Capitol.
The House action could start as soon as Monday as pressure increases on Trump to step aside. A Republican senator, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, joined Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska in calling for Trump to “resign and go away as soon as possible.”
A stunning end to Trump’s final 10 days in office was underway as lawmakers warned of the damage the president could still do before Joe Biden was inaugurated Jan. 20. Trump, holed up at the White House, was increasingly isolated after a mob rioted in the Capitol in support of his false claims of election fraud.
“We will act with urgency, because this President represents an imminent threat,” Pelosi said in a letter late Sunday to colleagues.
“The horror of the ongoing assault on our democracy perpetrated by this President is intensified and so is the immediate need for action.”
On Monday, Pelosi’s leadership team will seek a vote on a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence and Cabinet officials to invoke the 25th Amendment, with a full House vote expected on Tuesday.
After that, Pence and the Cabinet would have 24 hours to act before the House would move toward impeachment.
During an interview on “60 Minutes” aired Sunday, Pelosi invoked the Watergate era when Republicans in the Senate told President Richard Nixon, “It’s over.”
“That’s what has to happen now,” she said.
With impeachment planning intensifying, Toomey said he doubted impeachment could be done before Biden is inaugurated, even though a growing number of lawmakers say that step is necessary to ensure Trump can never hold elected office again.
“I think the president has disqualified himself from ever, certainly, serving in office again,” Toomey said. “I don’t think he is electable in any way.”
Murkowski, long exasperated with the president, told the Anchorage Daily News on Friday that Trump simply “needs to get out.” A third, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., did not go that far, but on Sunday he warned Trump to be “very careful” in his final days in office.
House Democrats were expected to introduce articles of impeachment on Monday. The strategy would be to condemn the president’s actions swiftly but delay an impeachment trial in the Senate for 100 days. That would allow President-elect Joe Biden to focus on other priorities as soon as he is inaugurated Jan. 20.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, the third-ranking House Democrat and a top Biden ally, laid out the ideas Sunday as the country came to grips with the siege at the Capitol by Trump loyalists trying to overturn the election results.
“Let’s give President-elect Biden the 100 days he needs to get his agenda off and running,” Clyburn said.
Corporate America began to show its reaction to the Capitol riots by tying them to campaign contributions.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s CEO and President Kim Keck said it will not contribute to those lawmakers — all Republicans — who supported challenges to Biden’s Electoral College win. The group “will suspend contributions to those lawmakers who voted to undermine our democracy,” Kim said.
Citigroup did not single out lawmakers aligned with Trump’s effort to overturn the election, but said it would be pausing all federal political donations for the first three months of the year. Citi’s head of global government affairs, Candi Wolff, said in a Friday memo to employees, “We want you to be assured that we will not support candidates who do not respect the rule of law.”
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said an impeachment trial could not begin under the current calendar before Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.
While many have criticized Trump, Republicans have said that impeachment would be divisive in a time of unity.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said that instead of coming together, Democrats want to “talk about ridiculous things like ‘Let’s impeach a president’” with just days left in office.
Still, some Republicans might be supportive.
Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse said he would take a look at any articles that the House sent over. Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a frequent Trump critic, said he would “vote the right way” if the matter were put in front of him.
The Democratic effort to stamp Trump’s presidential record — for the second time — with the indelible mark of impeachment had advanced rapidly since the riot.
Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I, a leader of the House effort to draft impeachment articles accusing Trump of inciting insurrection, said Sunday that his group had 200-plus co-sponsors.
The articles, if passed by the House, could then be transmitted to the Senate for a trial, with senators acting as jurors to acquit or convict Trump. If convicted, Trump would be removed from office and succeeded by the vice president. It would be the first time a U.S. president had been impeached twice.
Potentially complicating Pelosi’s decision about impeachment was what it meant for Biden and the beginning of his presidency. While reiterating that he had long viewed Trump as unfit for office, Biden on Friday sidestepped a question about impeachment, saying what Congress did “is for them to decide.”
A violent and largely white mob of Trump supporters overpowered police, broke through security lines and windows and rampaged through the Capitol on Wednesday, forcing lawmakers to scatter as they were finalizing Biden’s victory over Trump in the Electoral College.
Toomey appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Clyburn was on “Fox News Sunday” and CNN. Kinzinger was on ABC’s “This Week,” Blunt was on CBS’ “Face the Nation” and Rubio was on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
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The victor stomping on the grave. So much for healing, hope and unity. Both sides do this. They pretend they are unifiers, want to heal, bring Americans together. They lie. Americans need to transcend this madness. It’s time the extremists of BOTH PARTIES are rejected. The problem is we allow the extremists of each side to lead the “calling out”. The polarization of left/right is destroying our country. Americans agree on a majority of issues, how to address and handle them in balance and reason. The special interests, extremism have crippled and torn us apart. Lord help us.
A great time to start with the unity is by impeaching and convicting the President on a bipartisan basis so “both sides” can move forward and show that America, not their political party, is their priority. Then after the impeachment, expel the members of Congress who, after the Capitol was stormed, still committed sedition and voted not to accept the votes.
As lovely as it sounds to just “move on”, the history of America is defined by letting people just “move on” after the Civil War. How’s that worked out for America? We’re still dealing with racial inequality and issues because we didn’t discipline Confederate leaders who knew better (we name our bases after treasoners!) We didn’t shun those who were part of the Klan. So we deal with the same issues because we never root out the problem.
What do Donald Trump or Cruz or Hawley or Braun or Jim Banks learn if they’re allowed to just “move on”?
Joe B wow
KKK were democrats. But you knew that right?
Yes Dustin, they WERE Democrats. Now they are Trump supporters. But you knew that, right?
Dustin – yes, and Republicans traded the progress made in Reconstruction for a presidential win in 1876.
you two keep drinking the kool-aid – try getting out of your MSNBC bubble for a change. talk about people being fed misinformation. you are both poster boys for this.
I don’t watch TV for news.
Try https://www.memeorandum.com/ (1/2)
It’s a handy way to figure out where “both sides” are at on a topic. And since there’s a lot of sources, a media bias chart comes in handy to figure out where the source lands.
https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/media-literacy/2020/should-you-trust-media-bias-charts/ (2/2)
Beats the heck out of consuming whatever Facebook wants me to get addicted to, or listening to talking heads drone on and on with the goal of getting me angry enough to keep watching.
Is it extremism to hold those responsible and accountable for an assault on the United States Capitol? Threats on the Vice Presidents life and threats to take elected officials out of the House and Senate Chambers by their hair should not be brushed aside as normal. These acts were extreme and these acts do not reflect the majority of citizens of the United States view of our country. This is not a dance party. This is a sad and somber moment in our country’s history that should not be just brushed aside. Those responsible need to be held accountable. Our democracy is prevailing against every single assault by citizens who have been misled, misinformed, and played by a very bad leader. Yes indeed, Lord help us and forgive those who do not know what they do is not in your name.
In the constitution it says, congress cannot impeach a private citizen. And after Jan 20 at noon that’s what Trump will be, private citizen.
Still hoping he puts in place a special prosecutor for the Hunter Biden intanglement. Certainly national security implications involved.
He can’t be removed from office as a private citizen, but he can be barred from holding office again. Conviction also cuts off his lifetime pension, health care, office space that we pay for, and Secret Service protection.
You may want to think long and hard about the precedent that a President can do whatever he wants in the waning moments of his Administration and will escape punishment…
All for investigating Hunter Biden as soon as the Trump kids are investigated first. Start with how why their Dad had to overrule the government professionals to get them security clearances, figure out what entanglements and national security issues they had, and go from there…
Fine with investigating both families. Fairness and equal treatment is all we ask. The Hunter and Joe saga was kept from you before the election under the guise that it was unproven and probably Russian disinformation. I encourage you to actually look into it because it’s not and I have a simple question of if everything he was doing was above board then why create all these shell companies to keep it secret and Joe was profiting from his activities as well. I am smart enough to understand this is how Washington works and how politicians get paid outside of their paltry salaries (sarcasm), but it’s wrong. Haven’t you always wondered why many of them come out of politics rich. I have a bad feeling the Hunter stuff will disappear as we investigated and it was all above board. Poor judgement, but nothing illegal. If your side is serious about exposing corruption then all need to be exposed not just the current President and his family.
Sorry for the incorrect sentence, but the point is still there. I’m worried Washington will bury the story or say nothing to see here and I wish our media wasn’t so in the tank with their side. Remember why Trump was elected in the first place. People were sick of professional politicians and while that experiment has failed I worry about going back to a corrupt and closed system.
Fairness? That would entail the Trump kids getting the same treatment that Hillary Clinton got, which was totally nonstop prattling on conservative media for, what, five years? Isn’t there still a hearing about Hillary’s email server or Benghazi going on somewhere?
Meanwhile Trump is elected President and keeps all his properties. So he can charge foreign governments money to stay in his hotels, who then turn around and ask him for things. This is a corruption layup, yet the conservative silence was overwhelming. And, going in, he wouldn’t even turn over his tax returns. Why not?
Methinks you’re not that actually in “fairness” when it comes to corruption. It’s pretty obvious that Republicans need a bogeyman when they’re not in power to keep the base engaged, and Hunter Biden (as a reminder, won’t even have a job in this administration) will be that bogeyman for the next couple years. Then they will move on to demonize whoever the presumptive 2024 candidate is … regardless of accuracy.
How can you say Hunter Biden won’t have a job in a Biden Administration, Joe B; is his Administration going to end that quickly? Do you have inside knowledge of which us backward dweebs are unaware?
And no basis to have a conversation Joe if you keep thinking Hunter is a saint because of his Dad’s party even when I said look at both sides. I am a fair minded individual Joe and think what happened last week is appalling and has totally negated my support of Trump. I am still a conservative however and hope the Republicans can move on somehow. I don’t know why you would worry about Hillary or any Democrat at this point. What can Republican’s do to them with every part of government and law enforcement at the top protecting them from any allegations.
I didn’t say he’s a saint. But the same people who went on and on about Hillary and Benghazi and Hunter Biden had no issues with the nepotism of the Trump admin. If they’re all crooked, they’re all crooked. It’s like watching a football game and saying the refs stink when they make a call against your team, but not saying anything when they make a terrible call that benefits your team.
Hey Bob – in the real news media that some of us consume, it was announced that Hunter would not be in his father’s administration.
“President-elect Joe Biden said Thursday his son Hunter Biden won’t reap an overseas business windfall from his new job as commander-in-chief.”
“My son, my family will not be involved in any business, any enterprise that is in conflict with or appears to be in conflict with where there’s appropriate distance from the presidency and government,” Biden told CNN journalist Jake Tapper in a taped interview.
https://nypost.com/2020/12/03/joe-biden-says-hunter-wont-work-jobs-that-conflict-with-presidency/
Feel free to nail him when he goes back on that. I’ll also be griping about it … when it happens. Until then, the Republicans need to cleanse their seditious elements so we can all move on.
Seditious elements huh. In 2005, 32 Democrats in Congress attempted overturn the results of the presidential election by objecting to Ohio’s electoral votes. Was that seditious? They also did it in 2001 and 2017. Was that seditious or ok because they were on the right side of the issue? I would be ecstatic if I were you Joe because pretty soon comments like mine are going to booted off here and only agreeable comments on the right side of the issues are going to be allowed. Absurd. No, it’s not. It’s starting to happen quickly. Enjoy the back and forth while you can.
The actual only thing close would be the Brooks Brothers “riot” in Florida in 2000 that stopped their counting. But maybe we shouldn’t mention that since that was … the Republicans.
If you want to think this is just like any other previous election, go ahead. I can’t break into your information silo with any amount of reality so I’m not wasting my time as you try to justify a mob storming the US Capitol building to stop the election from being certified.
Don’t worry, the Republicans will make it harder for us all to vote for the next election. No more ballot boxes, impossible to get absentee ballots, even fewer locations in urban areas. They’re afraid of democracy but they call it “election integrity”. It’s all based on lies.
I’m absolutely not trying to justify a mob storming the capital. I hope “THOSE” individuals are punished to the full extent of the law. My problem is of course now we go overboard and want to punish anyone who supported or voted for Trump which is ridiculous. All the reactions by everyone on the left is dizzying. Why would you despise 74 million people or whatever the number was because they supported a different view. Better yet, why would you now want to silence them, call them out and ruin their lives. I have to stay underground except here because if it was known I had supported Trump I wouldn’t have a job or a career. Don’t you think that’s a bit extreme for a supposedly free country. I realize that’s not what you said, but that’s what I’m seeing out there right now.
Jeff, you’re projecting again.
There was not fraud in the 2020 election any worse than previous elections. It was litigated to the nth degree. This wasn’t even close to 1876.
I feel bad for many of those who vote for Trump because I think they’ve been hoodwinked. They live in an information bubble and they’re fed a lot of nonsense. If I despise anyone, it’s the elected officials and network officials who use those voters for their benefit knowing the entire time they’re lying to them. They don’t deserve to hold office now or ever again.
And I definitely question the judgement of all those Republicans who said after the election, oh, what’s the harm of letting Trump claim there was fraud? It’s not like he’s planning a coup! They need to choose their country, not their party.
If Republicans want to move past Trump and this exercise, they need to excise those responsible from their party and the government. Then, they can move forward. You don’t get rid of cancer by hoping it has learned it’s lesson and will just grow responsibly on its own. You excise it from the body via surgery or other aggressive treatment and throw it out.
Well said. I agree. Shock, right!