House Democrats looking at impeachment vote next week, Rep. Clark says

WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders are eyeing a vote on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump as early as the middle of next week, Assistant House Speaker Katherine Clark said Friday.

“We know that we have limited time, but that every day that Donald Trump is president of the United States, is a day of grave danger. So we can use procedural tools to get articles of impeachment to the floor for a House vote quickly,” Clark, D-Mass., said on CNN’s “New Day.”

Asked how early the House Judiciary Committee could bring the articles to the floor, Clark said, “That will be…as early as mid-next week.”

After the interview, Clark clarified that Democrats are still working to determine the timeline.

On Thursday night, Clark told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes that Democrats are “resolute” in holding Trump accountable and said they plan to move forward with impeachment if Vice President Mike Pence declines to invoke the 25th Amendment.

NBC News has learned Democratic leaders met Thursday evening to discuss how to remove the president from office, according to a member of Congress who was in the room. They discussed how to expedite the process and could call the House back into session as soon as Monday to start the process.

The matter has not yet been decided, and there were voices in the leadership meeting advocating for different approaches to the question of whether to impeach. But with Vice President Mike Pence seeming to signal he will not invoke the 25th Amendment, the discussion became more urgent Thursday.

Leaders will discuss the matter during a noon conference call with the House Democrats.

It’s not clear if any Republicans in the House would be willing to support impeachment at this point, but members are so angry about what happened at the Capitol that the political assumptions and norms are not as they have been. “People are pissed,” one Republican source said.

An impeachment floor vote in the middle of next week would give the Senate only a week to hold a trial before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., signaled Friday that he’s open to potentially convicting Trump and removing him from office if the House impeaches Trump.

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics

“The House, if they come together and have a process, I will definitely consider whatever articles they might move, because as I’ve told you I believe the president has disregarded his oath of office,” he said on “CBS This Morning.” “What he did was wicked.”

Clark said that the House “can act quickly when we want to” and suggested that they could bypass certain congressional procedures as Republicans have done in the past with their legislation, and fast-track articles of impeachment to the floor.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., made clear in a statement Thursday night that he supports the immediate impeachment of the president and his removal from office.