Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowHouse Democrats formally introduced an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Tuesday, charging him with “incitement of insurrection” for his role in the takeover of the U.S. Capitol last week by a violent pro-Trump mob. The House could vote as early as Wednesday.
The House could vote later this week on impeaching Trump an unprecedented second time, a consequence of events last Wednesday when a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol.
“He also willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged—and foreseeably resulted in—lawless action at the Capitol,” the resolution reads.
It adds: “Thus incited by President Trump, members of the crowd he had addressed, in an attempt to, among other objectives, interfere with the Joint Session’s solemn constitutional duty to certify the results of the 2020 Presidential election, unlawfully breached and vandalized the Capitol, injured and killed law enforcement personnel, menaced Members of Congress, the Vice President, and Congressional personnel, and engaged in other violent, deadly, destructive, and seditious acts.”
In Monday’s brief session, House Republicans blocked a measure calling on Vice President Mike Pence and Trump’s Cabinet to remove him under the 25th Amendment.
The procedural move by the GOP to block consideration of the measure under unanimous consent will force the full House to vote Tuesday on the resolution. The resolution pressures Pence to initiate proceedings to remove Trump in the wake of the attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob and comes as calls for Trump’s impeachment grow.
The 25th Amendment gives the vice president, plus a majority of the Cabinet, the ability to remove the president from office if they determine he “is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”
The resolution, written by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., calls on Pence “to immediately use his powers under section 4 of the 25th Amendment to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments in the Cabinet to declare what is obvious to a horrified Nation: That the President is unable to successfully discharge the duties and powers of his office.”
During a pro forma floor session Monday, Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., objected to considering the measure under unanimous consent.
Meanwhile, 22 Republican former House and Senate members are urging current members of Congress to move forward with Trump’s impeachment, aiming to bolster bipartisan support for a move that could occur this week.
“There is no excuse for nor defense of a President of the United States to actively orchestrate an insurrection on a separate but coequal branch of government,” a letter written by the group says. “Surely, the Founders would be sickened by the thought of such actions. As members of the branch that was under attack – not just politically but physically – you must remove the president from office.”
Notable signers include former House members Barbara Comstock of Virginia and Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, and organizers said they expect the number of those signing on to continue to grow.
“Congress must send a strong and clear message not just to this president but future presidents that this type of behavior will not be tolerated or accepted,” the letter says. “Frankly, the message also needs to be made clear to the American people that there is no place in politics for political violence.”
The letter argues that a central advantage of impeaching Trump and removing him from office would be to prevent him from holding federal office again.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
What a bunch of hogwash! How about the dems holding the people who broke the law accountable instead of using others as a scapegoat. Their hate and disdain for the President is so strong it has clouded their judgment and just like the Russia hoax, they go after him again with a week left in office. Terrible!
Trump incited a riot and attack on the Capitol, resulting in a policeman being beaten to death. Yes he needs impeached. Murder has not timeline for enforcement.
You know the more I think about this impeachment it might actually help the Republicans because Trump won’t be able to run again. I think his ego is big enough that he’s not going away no matter what, but not having him as a possible candidate for 2024 is certainly good for them and trying to put this administration behind them to focus on a new future. Has that been brought up at all?
It could be great for them if their base turns out to be Republicans and not Trumpublicans. They’ve already struggled in elections in which Trump isn’t on the ballot, both 2018 and in Georgia. If Republicans joined with Democrats and voted to impeach and convict Trump, what percentage of their base would they lose?
I suspect the number of Republicans who would “come home” to a Republican Party that is past the Trumpism is a heck of a lot smaller than the number of full-throated Trump voters they would lose. And, given the number of Congressmen and women who voted as they did on January 6th, the Republicans won’t be past Trumpism for many years barring a major purge.
You are probably right, but where else will they go? I guess not vote at all possibly? I’m hoping that things might settle down in the near future and we can get back to some saner times. I laugh that I used to stress over a Bush or Clinton choice, but certainly would take those days back with the way things have become. Yes, it will take some time to reinvent the Republican party, but as a lifelong Independent who’s always supported the best ideas from both parties I hate that things have become so vehemently partisan. I like supporting good people and ideas, not party’s.